Different Strokes: Harrington spared a tattoo by Ryder Cup loss

The tradition of inking a tattoo onto body parts is reserved it seems for only winning captains, so at least Pádraig Harrington has been spared the bother of subjecting his flesh to a tattoo machine.

“I will not have a tattoo, no,” confirmed Harrington of not going down that road.

Harrington, though conceded that the 19-9 defeat - a record one- would leave what he called “a spot” on his career list of achievements.

As he put it: “You get one go to be a winning Ryder Cup captain and when you are not a winning captain you are not a winning Ryder Cup captain. It would be one of those things, it would be nice to have it, but that’s the reality of it. Golf has been good to me so I am not going to, how will I put this, stress about it and think about it. But, on the bigger picture, golf has been very, very good to me and it will be something that will be a little spot on my career but that’s the thing that you take on when you take on the captaincy.”

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Despite the heavy loss, Harrington doesn’t believe that the European qualifying system needs to be adjusted: “In general it has been working, so don’t change what is not broken. I don’t think we need to panic, the core of the European team is strong. I think we should continue on, we don’t need to change the plan just yet.”

Maguire back in competition

It's back to work for Leona Maguire who this week tees up in the ShopRite LPGA Classic at Galloway in New Jersey.

Maguire - currently 43rd in the Rolex world rankings and 13th on this season's LPGA Tour order of merit - hasn't played since her exploits at last month's Solheim Cup where she was the standout player in Europe's annexing of the trophy in Ohio.

Stephanie Meadow, currently 98th in those Race to CME Globe standings, is also playing as she battles to stay in the top-100 who retain a full tour card for next season.

Word of Mouth

"The one thing we all have in common is we all hate to lose, and that's how we came together and we all played like it." Dustin Johnson - who won five from five matches - identifying the key factor in uniting the USA to Ryder Cup success.

By the Numbers

1x2: Nasa Hataoka became the first player in LPGA Tour history to record two holes-in-one in the same tournament, as the 22-year-old Japanese player shot a final round 67 for a total of 16-under-par 197 to claim the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. Hataoka recorded an ace on the 11th hole in the first round and another on the sixth in her second round.

On this day

September 28th 1986: What was referred to as a "savage" wind swept across the Old Course of St Andrews for the second edition of the old Dunhill Cup, where the Australian team of Rodger Davis, David Graham and Greg Norman retained the title they'd won in the inaugural edition.

The three-man knockout team event involved head-to-head matches and Australia negotiated the route to the final with wins over Italy, Wales and Scotland to face Japan in the showdown.

The strong winds impacted play, however, which resulted in high scoring: Davis’s 76 beat Tateo Ozaki’s 81; David Graham’s 81 beat Naomichi Ozaki’s 82, and Greg Norman shot a commendable 73 to beat Tsuneyuki Nakajama’s 76. “Rodger did the most important job of all, he was the first man out in all our matches and won every one of them,” said Norman.

Aside from the team win, the day was notable for Norman becoming the first player to surpass the $1 million mark in prize money in a year: “It’s a great feeling to have seven figures behind my name but I suspect the tax man is equally as happy. That was my goal this year and I knew if we won I would achieve it. It is a special feeling to know you have achieved something that has never happened before.”

Twitter Twaddle

"Few can appreciate the pressure and responsibility of being a team leader. You give 100% on every shot, every moment! It's gut wrenching to give your all and you're not able to do what you know you can do! His emotion and passion will fuel the determination for two years time" - Nick Faldo responding to Rory McIlroy's emotional reaction to his performance at the Ryder Cup.

“Surely “growing” the game would’ve been in better hands with the R&A as sole proprietor - The US booing & cheering & snide remarks to opponents golf balls is pretty shit and not with the tradition or spirit of all the golfers who set the sport on such a solid path for so many years” - former PGA Tour player Bradley Hughes.

"A dominant performance by @RyderCupUSA! I can't wait to see and celebrate with all of you! Congrats to all the players, Vice Captains and of course Captain @stevestricker" - none other than Tiger Woods.

In the Bag

Rory McIlroy, The Ryder Cup

Driver - TaylorMade SIM2 (9 degrees)

3-wood - TaylorMade SIM2 (16.5 degrees)

Hybrid - TaylorMade SIM Max (19 degrees)

Irons - TaylorMade Rors Proto (3-9)

Wedges - TaylorMade MG3 (46 degrees), TaylorMade MG2 (56 and 58 degrees)

Putter - TaylorMade Spider X Hydro Blast

Ball - 2021 TaylorMade TP5x

Know the Rules

Q: In a foursomes matchplay, Player A and Player B are partners of the side A-B. What happens if Player A intentionally misses the ball so that Player B can hit the shot?

A: A player may not change whose turn it is to play by intentionally miss the ball. A “stroke” is the forward movement of the club to strike the ball. Therefore, if a player has intentionally missed the ball, he or she has not made a stroke and it is still his or her turn to play. If Player B subsequently hits the ball, side A-B gets the general penalty because Player B played in the wrong order as it was still Player A’s turn to play.

However, if Player A intends to strike the ball and accidentally misses it, he or she has made a stroke and it is Player B’s turn to play.