The considerable presence of Colin Montgomerie stands between Padraig Harrington and a place in the Ryder Cup team this weekend. After two days of sensational scoring to lead the BMW Open in Munich, the Stackstown professional is poised to mark his 26th birthday tomorrow with the victory or second place finish that would secure his place in the European team at Valderrama next month.
Harrington yesterday added an eight-under-par 64 to his opening 66 for a 14under-par total of 130. If he goes on to win, he will collect 125,000 Ryder Cup points. The runner-up's award is 83,320, and either added to his present total of 293,517 will make him one of the 10 automatic qualifiers, whatever rival candidates like Jose-Maria Olazabal and England's Peter Baker and Paul Broadhurst may achieve in this last counting event.
With such an incentive, Harrington is odds on to remain in front of leaderboard rivals such as struggling Frenchman Fabrice Tarnaud, rookie Carl Watts, and the erratic Stephen Ames of Trinidad, with whom he shared fifth place in the recent Open Championship.
But getting the better of Montgomerie is likely to be a much more difficult task. The Scot who has long since ceased to worry about Ryder Cup qualifying, for he has amassed over 873,000 points. Here he shares third place with Watts and Ames, and the in-form Baker, who was runner-up in last week's European Open at the K Club.
Having again been denied a first major victory this season, the Scot is hot on the trail of a fifth successive European number one title, and despite his praise of Harrington's courage yesterday, he is not likely to stand aside when a 15th European Tour win is within his own sights.
"Padraig and Peter Baker have done a hell of a job and I hope they can continue over what should be a very interesting weekend," said Montgomerie.
"It is one thing having to do something, but achieving it is always difficult and they have both been very brave. I hope Peter wins and Padraig comes second, so they can both be automatic members of the team. It will be stronger for their presence."
The gods of golf have been smiling on Harrington so far. He just escaped the wrath of an afternoon thunderstorm on Thursday, and then he had by far the best of the second squally day which was punctuated by heavy bursts of rain.
Then, after hooking his second shot to the 18th, his ninth hole, he was saved from going out of bounds by an advertising sign. His ball finished a yard inside the boundary line and he was able to make a birdie four after pitching to within 15 feet of the flag.
That was one of 11 single putts Harrington converted as he came home in 31 with birdies at the first and fourth, and at each of the last three holes.
He, Mark James (64) and Thomas Bjorn (65) were the day's hot three-ball, for they were 23-under-par and shared 25 birdies.
Afterwards, Cup veteran James, still in the running himself for a place at Valderrama, paid Harrington a remarkable tribute. "His short game is in the same league as that of Bernhard Langer and Seve Ballesteros," he said.
Harrington responded: "That is a big compliment, but I think I am playing well here because I do not feel under as much pressure as last week. I have my coach, Howard Bennett, out here with me and I am concentrating on my own game and not looking around me at how others are performing.
"I know the pressure will come at the weekend but as yet I do not know exactly what I have to do."
But Harrington is enjoying the rivalry and the challenge. "Qualifying for the Walker Cup, which I have done three times, is like waiting for examination results," he remarked. "In the Ryder Cup you know exactly where you are, because it is all on the scoreboard."
That showed last night that Sam Torrance and David Gilford, both members of the victorious 1995 team, and Sweden's Joakim Haeggman, who all missed the cut, cannot now qualify for this year's team. Of the remaining 20 live contenders for the 10 places, James is the best placed at 10-under-par in ninth place, followed by Paul Broadhurst (17th) and Roger Chapman (23rd).
Olazabal who is in 11th place, almost 22,000 points ahead of Harrington, goes into the third round in 57th position after a moderate 72 yesterday put him on the exact cut off mark of five-under-par.
That equalled the European Tour record set at this course five years ago, and accounted for Eamonn Darcy (70-141), David Higgins (69-144) and Raymond Burns (72-149). But Christy O'Connor Jnr, who had a second 69, and Paul McGinley (69-139) and Ronan Rafferty (70-139) will be on hand to give Harrington moral support over the weekend.
