Cink and Harrington making good impressions at Ridgewood

PARAMUS, N.J. -- Stewart Cink and Padraig Harrington would like nothing more than to be friendly rivals vying for the tournament title on Sunday when The Barclays reaches its climatic back nine. Considering both players enter the weekend inside the top 10 on the leaderboard, it's a distinct possibility.

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Those two also would like nothing more than to be friendly rivals the first weekend of October during the Ryder Cup in Wales. It wouldn't be their first time on opposite sides. Cink has been a member of the last four U.S. Ryder Cup teams while Harrington has made five straight appearances for Europe.

Right now, though, their fates rest in the hands of others. Specifically, Cink must hope that U.S. Captain Corey Pavin names him as one of the four captain's picks, while Harrington is hoping for one of the three spots decided by European captain Colin Montgomerie.

Since neither Cink nor Harrington could make the team on merit, they are subject to the whims of their captains. There is no defined way for them to make it. Playing well this week at The Barclays won't clinch a spot -- and not playing well isn't automatic cause for elimination.

Who knows, the respective captains may have already made up their minds, although they certainly wouldn't say so publicly right now.

The only thing Cink and Harrington can do is offer up one more argument for their inclusion. Play well, show that you're peaking at the right time, and maybe that -- along with their resumes, with Cink a major winner and Harrington having won three -- will be good enough.

But while both players freely admit that the Ryder Cup is a goal, they also understand the task at hand. And that task this week is simple: Win at Ridgewood.

"We've got to focus on what we have to do right now," said Cink after his second-round 69 left him at 6 under for the tournament. "I want to play well and earn at least a shot at the team from Corey. At least maybe a consideration. But the FedExCup means a lot to me and so does this tournament.

"So I feel like I'm a lot better off trying to play well here just for this tournament than I am trying to qualify for the Ryder Cup team. I said the same thing for the PGA. The same thing applied there. I want to do well in this tournament for a lot of reasons. And the Ryder Cup is one of them. But it's not really in the forefront of my mind."

For Harrington, who is at 5 under after shooting a 68 on Friday, winning The Barclays actually won't have any impact on whether he makes Europe's squad.

Montgomerie will announce his three captain's picks overseas on Sunday night. With the time difference, that's Sunday afternoon in the U.S. If Harrington is among the last groups to tee off Sunday -- and he hopes he is -- then he may or may not be on the team before he strikes his first tee shot that day.

"I can have a late-enough tee off so I can see it before," Harrington said. "Maybe that might be a good thing, actually. (Or) maybe I should just ignore it and just keep playing."

Unlike Cink, who was a captain's pick two years ago, Harrington has always claimed his Ryder Cup spot on merit. He's never had to endure this kind of uncertainty.

And while he has five top-10s this year -- and may be headed for a sixth this weekend -- he hasn't fared well in the big tournaments. He missed the cut in three of four majors, as well as THE PLAYERS Championship.

But he has won those three majors, and that will be hard to ignore. Montgomerie definitely is keeping tabs on how Harrington is performing this week -- and he's been impressed by Harrington's first two rounds at The Barclays, to the point that he sounded like he was dusting off a roster spot for the Irishman, who was once a Ryder Cup partner to Montgomerie.

"We have to wait and see, but I was sure about Padraig," Monty told the (London) Telegraph on Friday. "When his back's to the wall, he's done awfully well in the past. So all credit to him for showing some form when he has to."

Montgomerie told the Telegraph he asked Harrington to show him something the last couple of months. Monty also made mention of the way Harrington reacted after missing the cut at Whistling Straits by one stroke when he took six at his last hole.

"Within five minutes of signing his card, he was on the range," Monty told the Telegraph. "... That says a lot about what he wants to do and what he wants to achieve."

Harrington is hopeful that the European captain looks at the last 12 months. Despite his troubles in majors, he's been on the verge on ending his two-year victory drought.

"The last thing I wanted was to come here and miss the cutoff or play poorly here and then say, well, maybe I'm out of form," Harrington said. "... I believe that Monty should make a decision based on the full year and who is going to play consistently and who we can rely on to play well."

Even so, Harrington said, "it's nice to be showing a bit of form (this week). It won't do me any harm."

Cink, meanwhile, has an extra week to sweat out Pavin's picks, which won't be announced until Tuesday, Sept. 7, the day after the Deutsche Bank Championship, the second leg of the Playoffs..

Since winning the British Open last year, Cink has made 21 starts on TOUR, with no wins and four top-10 finishes. He realizes that may not be good enough, considering how other potential captain's picks -- Nick Watney, Ben Crane, Zach Johnson, to name a few -- have performed.

"If I don't make the team, yeah, I'll be disappointed," Cink said, "but I just didn't do enough. I haven't played that great this year and I know that."

Of course, that could all change this week. A win at The Barclays, making an impact in the Playoffs -- those things get noticed.

For Cink and Harrington, two guys who are trying to send messages, this weekend could be full of promise. And hope. Definitely hope.