Rookie Dubliner raring to go after `a badly needed break'

Incredible, really. A Tuesday morning practice round, four days before the real thing, and already the crowd is hooting and hollering as if every shot counts. For the men on the tee, though, it probably does: certainly in terms of deciding who will play with whom, and in what format, when the action eventually starts.

Padraig Harrington, one of seven rookies on Europe's team, has eased seamlessly into life as a Ryder Cup player. "I'll tell you, it is just a pleasure to be here, a tremendous thrill," says Dave McNeilly, his caddie. "Padraig has taken it all in his stride. This is the pinnacle of his career so far, but not the pinnacle of what he can achieve in the game. He has many more great days ahead because he is a player on the up and up."

Rather than take the supersonic route to Boston, the 28-year-old Dubliner made "a conscious decision" to finalise his preparations by playing in the BC Open in Endicott, New York, last weekend. More experience on American courses, and away from the media spotlight too. "It was tight, but the rough wasn't too heavy, and all in all it wasn't too far removed from this type of course," said Harrington, who arrived quietly into Massachusetts on Sunday night and, effectively, rested for most of Monday.

Indeed, his recent form - at the NEC World Invitational and the BC Open, where he was tied-12th on each occasion - suggests that Harrington's role this week may be far greater than the fringe figure many believed he would be when he clinched his place on the team at Munich a month ago. Since then, he has visited his coach Bob Torrance, at Largs in Scotland, "to see exactly where my game was" and also took "a badly needed break." Now, he is raring to go.

First indications are that Harrington could be paired with Jarmo Sandelin, the fashion conscious, somewhat eccentric, but competitive Swede who is another rookie. "I wasn't asked by Mark (James) who I would like to play with, so if today's pairings mean anything, and I'm sure they have to, then it looks as if I could be partnered with Jarmo. And, to be honest, that is something I'd look forward to. I know it's a cliche, but it really would be fun."

Yesterday, there was little evidence of nerves as Harrington acquainted himself with the course. On the first, a long par four known as "The Polo Field" that dog-legs away from the colonial clubhouse, he smashed his drive down the left-handside of the fairway into A-1 position. In contrast, Sandelin was some 15 yards behind him, Miguel Angel Jimenez found a fairway bunker and Jose Maria Olazabal pushed his drive into rough.

Watching it all, with an eagle eye, was Europe's captain Mark James - sitting alongside his deputy Ken Brown in an electric cart - and, it would seem, Harrington's form is a bonus to them as they contemplate strategy for the match.

Harrington's own right-hand man is McNeilly, who first experienced the Ryder Cup experience at the PGA National in Florida in 1983 when he caddied for Nick Faldo. Things were somewhat different back then, and the event hadn't yet exploded into what it is today. "It's changed a lot since then," conceded McNeilly.

And what about his man? "Padraig isn't intimidated in the least about what's ahead of him," said McNeilly. "It's a privilege to be here, and he's bound to be a bit nervous come the time.