Montgomerie defends Harrington selection

European team captain Colin Montgomerie has defended his decision to select Padraig Harrington as one of his wild card picks for the Ryder Cup.

Harrington was the most controversial of Montgomerie’s wild-card choices due to his indifferent form this year and the fact that players such as Paul Casey and Justin Rose were omitted from the final cut.

Montgomerie has defended his decision, however and revealed that the 39-year old has been Europe’s best player in practice, following on from a 64 he shot in the final round of the Vivendi Trophy in Paris on Sunday.

"I know what Padraig can do and that's why he was picked. He's had three eagles out there today and is playing the best golf of my team right now,” said Montgomerie.

"The stature of the guy is second to none in our team. I was very happy with how he shot 64 in Paris, it was great for him, he added

"He has come here as if he is a rookie and he has been up about the whole thing and that's just fantastic."

Montgomerie called criticism of Harrington ‘unjustified’ and added that Harrington was somebody who "nobody in matchplay golf wants to play - a great competitor", despite the fact that he failed to win a match in each of the past two Ryder Cups.

Harrington’s teammate Graeme McDowell also defended Harrington’s place on the team and feels that he will have a big part to play at Celtic Manor this weekend.

"I am sure there's no better man to handle the pressure than Padraig and I fully expect him to be a force on the team," said the reigning US Open champion.

"You fully expect Padraig to be the kind of guy that will work so hard and will make sure he's as well prepared as anyone.

"You can be certain he's hit quite a few balls the last three weeks. I suspect there's a fair amount of turf been removed down in Dublin."