European captain Padraig Harrington has made a rather unusual promise ahead of this year's Ryder Cup, pledging to get a tattoo if his team are triumphant at Whistling Straits.
He will follow in the footsteps of 2018 captain Thomas Bjorn, who got his tattoo after the European victory at Le Havre in Paris.
Padraig Harrington reveals Ryder Cup tattoo plan
In 2018, Bjorn got the Ryder Cup trophy and the final scoreline of that year's contest tattooed on his backside, after being goaded into doing so as part of a bet with his players.
The #RyderCup has (literally) left it’s mark on @thomasbjorngolf 🏆✍🏼 pic.twitter.com/MGfVtsSPVL
— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) December 24, 2018
Ahead of this year's Ryder Cup, European captain Padraig Harrington has confirmed he will follow in the Dane's footsteps if Europe are victorious in 2021.
On Wednesday, the Irishman said:
I am delighted that that’s all they ask for — I’d have given up a lot more — so yes, I will be getting a tattoo. If my team produce a winning week, I will be getting a tattoo to mark the occasion, and I’m very comfortable that they only asked that much of me because I would have given more.
I think it’s an unwritten rule, so it has come up in conversation. Maybe they didn’t ask. Maybe I offered and they felt that was enough. But definitely, it’s a given now in Europe: captain has to get a tattoo.
Harrington also confirmed that it would be his first tattoo - and that he has not planned yet where he might place the ink on his body.
And I don’t have any other tattoos at this stage, so it would be a new experience for me. Where on the body? I don’t know. It depends...no, I can’t go that route.... depends how long it is.
We'd hazard a guess Padraig Harrington would prefer to avoid the area where Thomas Bjorn got his tattoo - but he will first need his 12 players to get the job done against the United States this weekend.
His team - including fellow Irishmen Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy - get the competition underway on Friday afternoon at 1:05pm Irish time.