Sky Sports - Ryder Cup

A veritable veteran of the event now, Harrington will make his fifth Ryder Cup appearance in the match at Valhalla. His debut came at Brookline in 1999 where he experienced the full range of emotions, getting the better of Mark O'Meara on the 18th green to win his first singles match only to end up on the losing side as the US produced one of the great fight-backs to win a highly-charged contest. Since then the Dubliner has featured on the victorious European side in each of the last three matches, memorably so on home soil at the K Club in 2006 even though he was only able to contribute half a point from his five matches. But while his winning percentage (0.47) is solid rather than spectacular, Harrington - especially in the absence of Colin Montgomerie - is now likely to be seen as the leader of the European side and the man that the American team and fans alike fear most in Kentucky. That is down to his emergence as arguably the form player in world golf in recent times with the 36-year-old now a three-time major winner. All of those successes have come since the 2006 match at the K Club and, having won both the Open Championship and USPGA this season, no-one will head to Valhalla in more confident mood.