Lowry Boosts Ryder Cup Hopes After Inspiring Captain Harrington

Harrington and Lowry were paired together in the final round of the PGA Championship

Lowry Boosts Ryder Cup Hopes After Inspiring Captain Harrington

Padraig Harrington says that Shane Lowry "certainly did himself no harm" after the pair played the final round of the PGA Championship together.

2019 Open champion Lowry could be set to make his Ryder Cup debut later this year, with his good friend Harrington captaining the side at Whistling Straits.

Both men shot 69s at Kiawah Island to finish inside the top five.

"Shane as we know is a big-time player and likes playing big golf courses on the big occasion," Harrington said.

"Why am I keep saying big about Shane? Yes, he likes the wind. There's a quality about him; he wouldn't stand on a tee box and fear anybody, so Shane, just like everybody else who is not on the team, nobody has to make it into the team.

"As I said, there's nine guys there at the moment, but if you want to get a pick, you're going to have to impress because there's plenty of guys; I seem to have an abundance of players in that running for those three picks.

"There's probably -- you've got to think six, seven players who could be in the running, and you've just got to impress.

"So did a good job today. He certainly did himself no harm and we'll see how the next couple of months go."

Related: PGA Championship Leaderboard 2021

Harrington will have three wildcard picks along with nine automatic qualifiers as Europe look to win the Ryder Cup on US soil for the first time since Medinah in 2012.

Last time the match was played Stateside, Darren Clarke's Europeans lost out to Davis Love III's US side at Hazeltine.

Harrington's superb finish at Kiawah Island is his first top-10 in a Major since the 2012 US Open.