Harrington defends under fire Faldo

Padraig Harrington launched a stern defence of under fire Ryder Cup skipper Nick Faldo last night.

Faldo has been dubbed "Captain Cock Up" in the British media after been caught on camera composing what could have been his Friday foursomes pairings.

The English legend claimed first that he was simply doing the sandwich orders for lunch before backtracking to say that they were his pairings for today's practice round.

But Harrington laughed off Sandwich-Gate and declared that he is massively impressed with the six-time Major winner.

He said: "I didn't hear about Sandwich-gate but I know for a fact that he hasn't done his listings yet.

"If he did get caught with a list of names it was more than likely his pairings for Thursday than anything else.

"I am very impressed with Nick so far and I was looking forward to playing under him because he has had a great career and I wanted to see what I could learn from him.

"A lot of the things he says are along the lines of what I am thinking. In many ways I have learnt from Nick over the years and would aspire to play the game a lot like he has.

"I think we are all very impressed by him so far."

Faldo also suggested that Harrington would not play with Graeme McDowell, explaining: "No, it will be something different. Promise you."

But after playing with the Portrush ace for the second day in a row, Harrington has no doubt that he will be paired with his fellow Irishman at some stage.

"I don't think anybody would take any genius to figure out that I will play with the other Irishman on the team at some stage this week," Harrington said.

"When and where that happens is not clear as of yet. But Graeme is playing really nice golf and I will be keen to tee it up with him at some stage and get out there and play.

"He's a really solid player and he looks like his mind is right and ready to go this week."

Confident that the adrenaline of the Ryder Cup will banish any worries about the mental fatigue he suffered during the FedEx Cup, Harrington said: "The great thing is that it's the Ryder Cup. I think there will be lots of pressure, lots of nerves and lots of adrenaline come Friday morning, and that can only help me."

Turning his thoughts to his role as a team leader in the absence of Darren Clarke and Colin Mongtomerie, he plans to lead by example and play the same way he always plays.

And that means that he won't be trying any less than usual, even though he knows that he will be targeted by the Americans

Harrington said: "Having won the last couple of Majors, I have a price on my head in some ways and most guys would relish the opportunity of playing against me.

"It's not something that I relish or something that I am worried about. I am neutral and all I can do is go out and play the way I always do and let them worry about it.

"I pride myself on the fact that I always do the same thing whether it is the 72nd hole of a major or the 18th green in a friendly game of golf.

"So it is always about that for me - doing the same thing. I am good at doing my own thing.

"I am the leading player out there but it is not in my nature and I don't gain any confidence from that role. I like to do the same every time and lead by example."