Paul McGinley and Ramey Barnes tied for sixth place for the best result, with Des Smith, Christie O’Connor Jr., Philip Walton, Eamon Darcy and David Higgins joined by Ronan Lafferty and Darren Clarke.
There will be just three Irish players on the field this week as Harrington joins Tom McKibbin and defending champion Rory McIlroy.
Harrington believes Ireland must continue to produce tour players, but despite the lack of talent, he believes Ireland will continue to produce more stars and future major candidates. Sure.
“I think we had some great golfers back then, and obviously our tour was getting a lot more depth,” he said of the early days of the tour. “In the first year we had 15 Irish players on tour, but I don’t think that has anything to do with Ireland. I think it has something to do with the development of the world game, especially the European game. ” European Tour Membership.
“If you put five players in Denmark, you probably lose five players from England and Ireland. You know, that’s the reality. That’s how it works. That’s good. It’s a little bit more competitive at the top. , but if you can get there, the rewards are great.”
Irish Golf won just one major in 1997, but now has 11, with Harrington (three), McIlroy (four), Clark, Graham McDowell and Shane Lawrie all winning in 1947. – Joined Daly in winning the British Open.
“When it comes to players, the standards are much higher and the pool is smaller because everyone is participating,” Harrington said. “So, there’s nothing wrong with that. Probably what we’ve been doing and what we’re going to continue to do is that when we develop players, they’ll probably achieve at a higher standard. I mean, the ceiling has been breached.”
“When you’re Ireland’s top player, you expect to play in the majors. But if you’d been Ireland’s top player in the 90s, it might have been different.
“Ronan Lafferty won the Order of Merit, but were there limits to whether even Ronan felt he could win a major?
“Things have definitely changed. Back then we were good enough to win tournaments. But now we have not only some of the best players, but some of the greatest players in the game. There’s also Rory, who probably boasts the number one name recognition in the outside game.”Tiger.
“Yeah, we can’t just sit on our laurels. We’ve got to keep producing players and keep pushing it forward and, hopefully, for my own sanity, I’m going to go on tour. We really need some Irish players.”
“It’s a much bigger draw when you go to an event and there are some young Irish people and you can go to dinner with them and have a little chat. It’s selfish, but what we get out of it is so much more. It’s important.” “There are several people you can help. The more of us there are, the better life will be.”