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Diabierna 8 OctOber 2021

Harrington discovering the bond of losing Ryder Cup captains

“I looked at Paddy and he III, who got another chance when you’ve been on the los-
said, ‘Well, I guess you know after a loss at Medinah in ing side, you look to the oth-
how I feel, don’t you?’” said 2012 and was on the winning er guys who have also been in
Furyk, the losing captain in side four years later at Hazel- that position.”
France in 2018. “I do. Shook tine.
his hand and said, ‘I under- If there is a small consolation
stand.’ I think there’s always The final act of the Ryder for Harrington, this Ryder
that understanding of what Cup at Whistling Straits was Cup did not leave a lot of
the other side goes through, for both teams — players, room for second-guessing.
win or lose.” captains and assistants — to He said he had no regrets,
form a line and share hugs and that his European squad
There is a fraternity among and handshakes on the 18th believed Friday morning, and
Ryder Cup captains, and it green. Of the 18 dressed in even facing an 11-5 deficit
(AP) — It was the right had birdied the 17th hole and is especially strong among red, white and blue, the two going into the final day, that
time, of that Jim Furyk was assured the half-point the those who wind up on the that stood out to Harrington it could win.
was certain. Left for him Americans needed to win. wrong side of the outcome. were Furyk and Love.
to decide was whether he The 19-9 victory for the
was in the right place or At that moment, the Ryder Ten previous Ryder Cup cap- “They have had tough times Americans was the biggest
the wrong place when the Cup effectively was over. tains are together this week as a Ryder Cup captain, so blowout since Europe joined
Ryder Cup ended. for the Constellation Furyk they would understand my the Ryder Cup in 1979. The
Furyk said he hugged Strick- & Friends Invitational, a PGA position,” Harrington said Americans had 11 of the top
Furyk, an assistant captain er, and then celebration Tour Champions event that Wednesday. “That was prob- 20 in the world — the ex-
to Steve Stricker, was stand- turned to a moment of com- Furyk is hosting at Timquana ably the two most relevant. ception was Scottie Scheffler
ing on the 16th tee with both passion when he turned to Country Club. I was delighted for Steve at No. 21, who took down
captains on the final day at see European captain Padraig Stricker. There is a bond be- world No. 1 Jon Rahm in
Whistling Straits when word Harrington. Six were on the losing side, tween all captains, I’m sure, singles — and they played
arrived that Collin Morikawa which includes Davis Love good and bad. Certainly, like it.

Blaney given key role in search for new crew chief

(AP) — Ryan Blaney wanted a leadership role at Team
Penske, a request granted when Roger Penske invited
the driver to participate in interviews for Blaney’s new
crew chief.

Discussions were underway on who would replace Todd
Gordon as leader of the No. 12 Ford when he retires at the
end of the season when Penske and executive vice president
Walt Czarnecki widened the group to include Blaney.

It was a first for the third-generation racer, who researched
candidates and wrote questions in a notebook he brought
with him to the interview session.

“I was kind of interviewing people for the job, I’ve never re-
ally been in that spot,” Blaney said. “What I really liked was
they sat me down and said, ‘Hey, we want you to be just as
much a part of this deal,’ and that made me feel good that I
had the input.”

Team Penske and Blaney ultimately chose Jonathan Hassler,
a longtime team engineer who in June was named crew chief
for Matt DiBenedetto at Penske sister team Wood Brothers
Racing. Hassler has led the No. 21 to one top-five finish and
five top-10s since taking over that team.
He also filled in for Joey Logano crew chief Paul Wolfe for
one race this season, a fifth-place finish at Dover.
“It definitely means a lot when the team sits you down and
says, ‘You are looking for somebody next year and you are
going to be just as big a part as we are in making the decision
and we’re going to get our guys and then we’re going to talk
about it and make a choice,’” Blaney said. “And at the end of
the day it was my choice to have Jonathan and they were OK
with that.”

The interview took place in the same room where Blaney
interviewed to drive for Penske nine years earlier and sym-
bolized how far he’s come with the organization. Brad Ke-
selowski is leaving Penske at the end of the season and the
27-year-old Blaney hopes to assume some of Keselowski’s
duties as a team veteran and leader.

Blaney himself had never interviewed anyone before — he
joked that all his employees are family members and “I al-
ready know them pretty well” — and had to figure out what
it was he was looking for in a crew chief.