European Team / Ralph Ellis / 09 September 2008 / Leave a comment

Ralph Ellis has some sympathy for pro sportsmen complaining of fatigue and considers why two of Europe's biggest stars, Harrington and Garcia, have more reasons than most to cite this as a reason for recent poor performances.

We who merely sit and watch tend to sneer at professional sportsmen who grumble at being tired. The footballers? Are you sure? An hour or so's training every morning before counting their money in the afternoon? The cricketers? Okay so they do spend lots of time in the field but there's just as much spent sitting in the dressing room watching other people bat. And so on. Let them come and do our jobs, we argue, where you have to put in a full day's shift in a factory or office or on the road, and see how tired they get then.

But here's a secret. Actually the sort of physical and mental intensity the top stars get exposed to is so far beyond our experience of Sunday morning turning out for the Dog and Duck, it's impossible to measure. And exposure to a congested fixture list is pretty damn tiring. It's why, for instance, Tiger Woods doesn't play too many tournaments but turns up ready to win all the ones he does go for.

It's a factor worth bearing in mind when looking for value bets. We all know about the big four under performing the weekend after a Champions League trip. And it's definitely one to bear in mind when you are assessing the Ryder Cup which is now only 10 days away. Europe continue to be heavy favourites to retain the trophy - although the [2.0] they are currently trading on Betfair is far better value than most of the traditional bookies who are inevitably going odds-on.

Much of the support for the European team works on the principle that while Woods is missing and injured, Europe have the man who has stood most successfully in his shoes by winning two majors. Padraig Harrington has great Ryder Cup pedigree, and will always be remembered for the cool way he holed the crucial final putt when Europe last won in America at Oakland Hills four years ago. So no wonder he's currently a fraction behind Sergio Garcia in the market to be Europe's top scorer at [6.2]

But Harrington is at the end of a long and gruelling summer that has taken him to the limits and the big question will be whether he has enough left to go to the well of his talent and bring up another bucketful when it matters. At the moment there must be a doubt. He flew back to Ireland yesterday after the BMW Championship having failed to qualify for the PGA Tour Championship following a poor three weeks in which he has missed the cut twice. And he's told Neil Squires of the Daily Express the reasons why.

"There is nothing in my game I am unhappy with, I just need to make the right decisions a bit more often and that is down to tiredness," he says. "My schedule was set out this year so I would peak again for the Ryder Cup, but I didn't envisage having so much drama in the middle of the season."

So if Harrington is off colour, can we at least rely on Garcia, favourite to be Europe's top scorer at [5.6]? Apparently not. He's also told Squires: "It has been a long summer and I need to take three or four days off and make sure I get my batteries fully charged." And just to make it even more complicated there's a doubt over third favourite Lee Westwood's health (he's [7.2]) with a bout of suspected tonsillitis.

Meanwhile Squires points out that seven of the American team finished in the top 20 at the BMW Championship, suggesting they could be finding the crucial confidence at just the right time. Does that mean we'd be better backing the home team at [2.28]? I'm worn out just thinking about it!

Five things you might not know about Padraig Harrington:

1. One of five brothers, his dad Paddy was a policeman who played Gaelic football for Cork and was also a boxer.

2. He started playing golf aged four when his Dad volunteered to help build a new local club

3. He's a distant cousin of NFL quarterback Joey Harrington

4. He'll have no problems looking after the prize money he's amassed this year - before turning pro he completed all his exams to qualify as an accountant

5. He's taken his first venture into golf course design at The Marlbrook in Tipperary (It's a long way!)