Harrington simply didn't putt a strong enough case for selection

CADDIE'S ROLE:The truth is the Dubliner had shown nothing like the form required to catch the eye of a swayable captain

SO THE time came once again last week for the final posturing for a part in the European Ryder Cup team. We were in a damp, sodden Gleneagles, which is of course the venue for the next Cup on European soil in 2014.

The Johnnie Walker Championship has wisely positioned itself as the scene of the captain announcing his team and more importantly, his two picks.

The weather in Perthshire was as schizophrenic as the suggestions bounced around the lockerroom and caddie shack for Jose Maria.

Occasionally the sun pierced the gloom of the gun-metal-grey sky and raised the temperature by about 10 degrees, making us rain gear-clad participants long for the sun to be blocked once more.

Judging by his selection the previous week of tried and tested vice-captains in Paul McGinley, Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn, it should have been no surprise the Spaniard was not going to be a ground-breaker in his choice of players either.

There is a distinctly British Isles feel to most things Ryder Cup (even the Dane Bjorn speaks English with an English accent). I would have thought the captain would have wanted a more European influence in the backroom team. Seemingly not.

Jose Maria was a late draft in Wales two years ago when the weather altered the format slightly for the fourball matches, which meant five matches were held instead of the customary four, resulting in an extra vice-captain being required for the fifth match.

Olazabal watched over my then player Edoardo Molinari and his brother Francesco with a stern but encouraging eye. He should, with his pedigree, have been included in the first place. I got the impression the Ryder Cup was as much about the vice-captains as it was about the team.

The debates gathered momentum with Pádraig’s strong gambit for Jose Maria’s attention over in New York with his very low opening round. After a low comes a high, as a sage colleague of mine always reminds me in golf, similar to the British weather.

Nicolas Colsaerts was also shining in the captain’s more immediate vision on the Centenary course with a four-under par opening round. Which led to the question in the caddie shack of “old faithfuls or new blood?”. Then the chat moved more to “inoffensive or controversial?”.

With memories of the Seve Trophy contretemps between Jose Maria and Pádraig in El Saler, outside Valencia, in 2003, the pendulum swung back in the young Belgian’s favour as many suggested Olazabal, being an uncompromising Basque, was unlikely to feel the need to do Harrington any favours.

But of course the argument continued that a captain had only to satisfy himself he had the best possible team within the parameters of the selection system.

The timely drive of some players to get into the team is a testament to the equal importance of willpower and skill in golf. Edoardo Molinari was a shining example of a man driven beyond any obstacles to play his way into 2010 captain Colin Montgomerie’s head with a birdie blitz of the final three holes to seize the tournament and Monty’s mind.

With clear goals and determination you can make things happen in golf.

Was Olazabal looking for experience or young flair, composure or bravado? What was more important in a rare team challenge where balance is vital and the unusual matchplay format over 18 holes changes all the theories of advantage by higher-ranked players in the 72 holes strokeplay format?

With a break from modern Ryder Cup tradition, we had to keep ourselves in suspense until midday yesterday, to hear Jose Maria announce his two wildcards. It is usually the time the world ranking points have been formally updated and the proceedings in the US have been accounted for.

The convenient pre-selection week banter about decade-old grudges had been brought up but how realistic is it for golfers to bear lifelong vendettas against colleagues? The man in power in this year’s selection conundrum has held strong positions all through his career but it was unrealistic to suggest he would compromise his captaincy over a dispute between egos almost 10 years ago. The captain would undoubtedly choose the players he thinks can deliver most points for his team over the three days.

Despite Harrington’s recent improvement in performance, he has still shown nothing like the form required to catch the eye of a swayable captain. The obvious fact is Pádraig does not putt as well as he did when he was winning majors. That is the simple difference between finishing first and 20th, which amounts to about two putts a day, eight in the tournament and 19 positions.

Putting well is even more crucial in the Ryder Cup with only 18 holes of matchplay in which to influence the outcome. So when it came to the high noon announcement yesterday it was obviously form and not feud that was the decisive factor in captain Olazabal’s final picks of the spirited and combative Poulter and the very deserving and exciting Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts.