Rory McIlroy says Padraig Harrington ‘more of a distanced’ Ryder Cup captain

ATLANTA – This probably won’t be elevated to “bulletin board” status because deep down players on both sides of the Ryder Cup divide likely agree with Rory McIlroy’s assessment of captains. But it is an interesting take from a player who will one day captain his own team.

“The captain doesn’t hit any shots and that’s what I always say,” McIlroy said Friday at the Tour Championship. “I played under some pretty average captains, I played under some really good captains and we have won both times.

“I’m not trying to play down the role of the captain, but I don’t think it’s as important as everyone thinks it is. The players are the ones on the golf course hitting the shots and holing the putts.”

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McIlroy’s thoughts came after he was asked how involved European captain Padraig Harrington has been the last few months.

“I would say a little more of a distanced captain than the last few [captains], I feel like Thomas [Bjorn] basically took a year and a half out from his career to really focus on the captaincy,” he said. “Padraig is still pretty competitive, he’s got a PGA Tour card, he plays over here. He more than the last few captains has had to try to balance that.”