Last Updated: Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:21
Padraig Harrington believes that one of the European Ryder Cup stars could win this week's USPGA Championship at Oakland Hills.
The double Open champion was part of the 2004 Ryder Cup success at the same venue and he will line up with seven of his team-mates from that victorious contest on Thursday.
Harrington, along with Paul Casey, Darren Clarke, Sergio Garcia, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Colin Montgomerie, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood are all back at the course where they beat the Americans four years ago and Harrington feels knowledge of the course and conditions is vital to winning.
"It's an advantage to anybody who's played a tournament of that intensity," he said.
Westwood, currently enjoying some of the best form of his life, agrees that it is a tricky course and feels it is even longer than when he played in the Ryder Cup.
"I think it's now 300 yards longer," he said. "They're not forced to play it right from the tips, but they probably will do.
"I think they'll probably set it up equally as tough. It was pretty hard when we played it. I remember if you missed fairways it was difficult to hit greens.
"I remember the greens being very undulating and having to almost slow them down, and the ball was rolling around on the ninth green and the 18th green."
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