<p>Pádraig Harrington chats to the media in the Harrington Room at Stackstown Golf Club in 31 May 2026</p>
Pádraig Harrington does not rule out a future Ryder Cup captaincy for LIV Golf rebels like Graeme McDowell, Lee Westwood, or Ian Poulter as Luke Donald prepares to face a USA squad out for revenge at Adare Manor next year.
Donald will be looking to become the first man to captain three consecutive winning teams in Co Limerick, where McDowell had hoped to captain Europe before he joined LIV and golf entered a bitter civil war.
Until the rules are changed, McDowell and fellow Ryder Cup stars like Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia remain ineligible for the captaincy, having failed to retain continuous membership of the DP World Tour.
But Harrington is not ruling them out in the future, given the changing landscape in professional golf and LIV's uncertain future following the decision by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund to end its funding of the tour at the end of this season.
"Lee Westwood was lined up to take the captaincy after me," he said at his home club, Stackstown, where he shot a career-best, bogey-free six-under 66 to win the €15,000 TileStyle PGA Pro-Am by two strokes from Simon Thornton and Nicky Grant as part of the club's 50th anniversary celebrations.
"You've got Poulter, and you've got Graeme. There would have been a lot of competition there. Time heals a lot, so you know, maybe we'll see those guys and captains down the road."
As for the PGA of America's decision to reappoint losing 2018 captain Furyk for Adare Manor, Harrington believes Europe will do well not to underestimate the American as he tries to lead the USA to its first away win in 34 years.
The former US Open winner (56) was a surprise choice to succeed Keegan Bradley as captain and take the reins again.
"Jim's a great guy, for sure," Harrington said. "I think he's very competitive. He's quite hard. The whole US team wants revenge, and they're definitely going to leave no stone unturned, I would think.
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"Obviously, they can't do much with Adare, so it's all about themselves, how they'll manage themselves.
"There are some ebbs and flows when it comes to teams. They didn't seem to have their best team last time, which usually means they'll be stronger next time around.
"Obviously, the separation in the game of golf hasn't helped the US Ryder Cup team figure out who their best players are.
"But in another year's time, they'll have a lot of that figured out, so you certainly wouldn't be underestimating Jim and his team, that's for sure.
"He's a tough, tough, tough character."
Harrington was pleased to escape the practice ground and play competitive golf before heading to the US in a week to see Shinnecock Hills before the US Open, then warm up for the season's third Major at the RBC Canadian Open.
"I was trying hard today," he said at the course where he grew up. "I certainly wanted to break the 69, which I think is the lowest score I've ever shot here.
"Maybe I need to take a few more risks and beat Michael McDermott's course record of 63, but there was also one side of me making sure that I didn't shoot a high number as well."
In Austria, Kota Kaneko held his nerve to secure his first DP World Tour title at the 2026 Austrian Alpine Open presented by Kitzbühel Tirol.
The 23-year-old, who topped last season's Japan Golf Tour Order of Merit to earn his DP World Tour card, chipped in at the 16th for birdie after a weather delay and carded a three under 67 to win by two shots from Portugal's Ricardo Gouveia and American Davis Bryant on 18 under.
As Bryant bogeyed the 18th to shoot 65 and finish alongside Gouveia on 16 under, Kaneko hit the stands behind the 18th green, but his ball stopped in the thick rough by the water hazard.
"I just can't believe it, I didn't think I would win, and I'm still very surprised," Kaneko said.
"On the 16th, I was just trying to make par. I knew I hit it hard, but it went in, so I was lucky. Sometimes you need things to go your way out there.
'I tried not to think too much about the weather delay after the restart. I managed to calm down and get into a good rhythm, so the stoppage worked out well for me.
"On the 18th, I knew I hit the board, but I knew it didn't go in the water, so I was just happy it didn't find the water."
On the HotelPlanner Tour, Liam Nolan moved up to 26th in the Road to Mallorca race for 20 DP World Tour cards when he tied for seventh in the Challenge de España at Isla Canela Links.
The Galway man recovered from bogeys at the second and third and shot a four-under 68 to finish five strokes behind South Africa's Ryan van Velzen on 12 under.
James Sugrue shot 70 and Mark Power a 74 to share 44th on four under while Max Kennedy's 76 left him 59th on one-over, a shot better than John-Ross Galbraith, who shot 73.
Article Link: "Maybe we'll see those guys as captains down the road" - Harrington hopeful for LIV rebels - News - Irish Golf Desk