Many positives to take away

Padraig Harrington has grown up. In terms of his golfing development, what happened at Brookline - and how he coped with the pressure - provided further proof of the Irishman's backbone.

"I surprised myself with how well I handled it," admitted Harrington. "I focused unbelievably well. I can't believe how well I focused to be honest and I didn't feel the pressure at all."

He was one of the few.

In the circumstances, that fortitude was almost as important as the golf shots he executed. At the start of the week, his caddie Dave McNeilly had offered the opinion that his player could reach new heights. "This is the pinnacle of his career so far, but not the pinnacle of what he can achieve. He has many more great days ahead of him because he is a player on the up," observed McNeilly, rather prophetically.

Even in defeat for Europe, Harrington could walk away from his debut Ryder Cup a stronger player. His singles win over Mark O'Meara gave him a 1-1-1 record from his three matches, a total of one and a half points. Of greater significance was how he performed under the most intense pressure in Sunday's singles.

"The only sporting analogy that I can give is that it was a bit like riding a bicycle up the Alps in the Tour de France the way people were roaring and shouting," said Harrington. "I was surprised that I was able to ignore it. I just focused on what I had to do myself.

"Of all the matches, it was probably easier for me, until the last few holes, because I had so much incredible Irish support. That helped. But it all became such a blur towards the end," he added.

Indeed, it was only after his match finished and he went back to the 17th green to support Jose Maria Olazabal that Harrington fully appreciated the hostility of the American crowd.

And he was present by the penultimate green to observe the en masse intrusion by American players', wives' and other members of the USA entourage over Olazabal's line after Justin Leonard's monster putt.

His thoughts on that? "I think the Americans just got excited. Let's believe that is what happened, and trust that they didn't do it intentionally," said Harrington.

Ironically enough, a miniversion of that incident had occurred in Harrington's match when O'Meara holed a putt for par while Harrington still had a two footer to halve the hole. A number of American players reacted by running up the greenside to embrace O'Meara who, upon realising the situation, immediately conceded the putt to Harrington.

"I don't think too many people came out onto the green. It certainly wasn't affecting me, and I was always going to hole the putt but Mark was a gentleman and he gave it to me," recalled Harrington of that incident.

Having been part of one Ryder Cup team - "I said at the start of the week that I wouldn't enjoy it if we lost, but I did," he remarked - the Dubliner, who played in three Walker Cup matches as an amateur, now intends to be back in the team for the 2001 match at The Belfry in England.

"I'm going to take many positives away from it," said Harrington, who flew back to London on Concorde yesterday. "I've made stronger bonds with the players, made better friendships. When the whole process starts up again next year, I'll want to be in the team, to be a part of it again."

As one of seven rookies in the team, it was all a new experience for Harrington - and one that should benefit him. "To be honest, I don't know if it will make me a greater player," he said, "but the way that I retained my focus, my concentration, is obviously important and encouraging."

Harrington was also understanding of captain Mark James's strategy which left three of his fellow-rookies - Jarmo Sandelin, Jean Van de Velde and Andrew Coltart - without a match until thrown to the lions in the singles. "In an ideal world," said Harrington, "everyone should have played a match before the singles. But this is not an ideal world, and Mark did what he did for the good of the team. It's what he felt was best, and he's the person who has to make such decisions."

For Harrington and the other Irish member of the Ryder Cup team, golfing life goes on this week. Today they are due to fly out to Cologne for the German Masters - indeed, nine members of the European team will be in action there - and, next week, they are back to team combat when Harrington and Clarke team-up with Paul McGinley for the Alfred Dunhill Cup at St Andrews. "I'm just going to be playing non-stop golf the next few weeks," said an upbeat Harrington.