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In case you didn’t know by now, Padraig Harrington appears nailed-on to captain Europe in the 2020 Ryder Cup.

Lee Westwood withdrew his interest in leading the team at Whistling Straits leaving the three-time major winner as the only real contender for the job, with Rory McIlroy among those lauding the Irishman’s qualities.

But what does Sergio Garcia think?

The pair have famously never seen eye to eye, dating back to an argument at the 2003 Seve Trophy between Harrington and Garcia’s idol Jose Maria Olazabal. At the 2007 Open, Harrington then beat Garcia in a play-off to capture the first of his three major titles.

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Garcia had to wait another ten years for his major breakthrough, which came at the 2017 Masters, and afterwards, Harrington told an Irish radio station that the Spaniard had been a ‘very sore loser’.

“I gave him every out I possibly could at the 2007 Open,” Harrington told RTE 2fm. “I was as polite as I could, and as generous as I could be.

Sergio Harrington

“But he was a very sore loser, and he continued to be a very sore loser. So clearly after that, we had a very sticky wicket I’d say. The Ryder Cup obviously improved it to no end. But look, we say hello to each other every day we meet, but it’s with gritted teeth, there’s no doubt about it.”

Fast forward 18 months and that relationship, it seems, has improved. The duo reportedly buried the hatchet at Rory McIlroy’s wedding in late April 2017 and, speaking ahead of this week’s Andalucia Valderrama Masters, Garcia said he’d be ‘delighted’ if Harrington got the nod.

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“I get along well with Padraig Harrington,” he said. “We have talked a lot about the team during the Ryder Cup week. The past is past. I shall be delighted if he becomes the next Ryder Cup captain and I can get into his team.”

Should Garcia tee it up in 2020, it’ll mark his tenth appearance in the biennial match, having made his debut at Brookline in 1999.

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