Woods still has "intimidation factor," says Harrington
Many PGA Tour players would likely admit that Tiger Woods has lost some of his intimidating presence on the golf course after going winless this season for the first time in his 15-year
professional career.
But it turns out there is at least one player who refuses to believe that Woods has his best days behind him.
Padraig Harrington, a member of the European squad for the upcoming Ryder Cup, said that even with his lack of success on tour this year, Woods should still be a top concern.
“He is the No.1 golfer in the world still by rankings," Harrington said. "He has a presence – an intimidation factor.”
Harrington said the Ryder Cup could present Woods with the springboard he needs to get his game back on track after a tumultuous year.
"In many ways the Ryder Cup could be the pinnacle of his year," said Harrington. "Definitely he'll be in a fighting mood for the week – a mood to perform."
Harrington, like Woods, had to rely on a captain’s pick to make the team for the upcoming matches in early October at Celtic Manor golf course in Wales. European team captain Colin Montgomerie
didn’t want to exclude the three-time major champion, saying that Harrington is someone “nobody in match-play golf wants to play.”
But Harrington has struggled to put points on the board in the last two Ryder Cups. He won only a half-point out of a possible four in the past two events in 2006 and 2008.
For Corey Pavin, the captain of the American side, including Woods as a captain's pick was never seriously in doubt.
But Woods does have a rather pedestrian record in Ryder Cup play. He has won 11 points out of a possible 25 in his five appearances at the event, a puzzling statistic for many because
of his early success as an amateur in match-play tournaments.
Harrington said Woods won’t be lacking in motivation when the matches get underway in less than two weeks.
"He's coming into this Ryder Cup not having succeeded and achieved a lot of his goals this year," Harrington said. "He's coming in thinking, ‘I want to play well in this Ryder Cup to make
me have a successful year.’”
Tags: