RYDER CUP LATEST: McDowell defends Harrington

"I am sure there's no better man to handle the pressure than Padraig and I fully expect him to be a force on the team," said McDowell.

Paul Casey and Justin Rose were both left out by European captain Colin Montgomerie, who proffered the opinion that Harrington is a player "nobody in match play golf wants to play - a great competitor".

Certainly nobody can argue with the tenacity the Dubliner showed in capturing his three majors, but the last of them was the US PGA over two years ago and he has not won a tour event since.

Nor did he win a game in either the 2006 victory in Ireland or the 2008 defeat in Louisville - and whereas Casey has reached the last two finals of the World Match Play in Arizona, Harrington has lost in the first round to Pat Perez and Jeev Milkha Singh.

"You fully expect Padraig to be the kind of guy that will work so hard and will make sure he's as well-prepared as anyone," adds McDowell.

"You can be certain he's hit quite a few balls the last three weeks. I suspect there's a fair amount of turf been removed down in Dublin."

And that appeared to pay off in Paris on Sunday when Harrington shot a best-of-the-day 64 - his joint lowest round of the season - to climb into eighth place at the Vivendi Cup.

"I'm sure Monty is keeping a close eye on him," adds McDowell. "It does not matter what anyone has done the last 10 weeks - it's all about how they play at Celtic Manor and what form they take in there with them.

"I'm also sure that as far as Monty is concerned your picks have to play - there's no point picking a player to sit him out. It doesn't reflect well on anyone if he gets a pick and then doesn't play a lot of golf."

Along with good friend Rory McIlroy, it will be the first time that two Ulstermen have played on the same side in the Ryder Cup.

Only three men from Northern Ireland played on the team prior to the inclusion of the Europeans.

Portrush's Fred Daly played on four teams from 1947 to 1953, with three victories to his credit. Belfast's Norman Drew played in 1959 and halved the only match he played with Doug Ford, while Newcastle's Eddie Pollard performed at Muirfield in 1973, losing both his matches.