Faldo without star men

Only two of Europe’s top 10 golfers – Justin Rose and Paul Casey – are in Ireland this week for the Seve Trophy match pitting Nick Faldo’s Britain and Ireland against the Continental side led by Seve Ballesteros.

Wed, 26 Sep, 2007 - 08:05

But the disappointing turnout does give others a chance to strut their stuff at The Heritage an hour west of Dublin and, regardless of who is missing, the competition also gives Faldo a taste of captaincy ahead of the main event: next year’s Ryder Cup, of course.

The last time the 50-year-old was put in charge of anything, he says, was his school basketball team, “before I got kicked out”.

On taking over from Colin Montgomerie as skipper this week, Faldo, who now spends most of his time commentating on the US Tour, said: “It’s a chance to get to know the players on both sides and maybe a few magical pairings will come out of it that I will pay attention to.

“It might be an opportunity to be experimental and see how it works out, but I am sure it will be a very valuable experience.”

However, he certainly would not have expected as many as 11 players turning down the chance to play.

The 10-strong home line-up could have included Open champion Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, but the first three felt the need to rest, while Poulter is getting married on Saturday.

Continental Europe are without Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Niclas Fasth, Anders Hansen – their top four – while Jose Maria Olazabal, Carl Pettersson and Bernhard Langer each in turn declined to step in as a substitute.

Harrington’s absence and Faldo’s decision to name England’s Simon Dyson and Scot Marc Warren as his two wild cards also means there is no Irish involvement.

Faldo could, of course, have asked Paul McGinley, Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell or even 18-year-old Rory McIlroy to play – “a bit early, a little too wild” said Faldo on that – but clearly did not take the same view as Gary Player, who selected Mike Weir for this week’s Presidents Cup match in Canada because it added local interest.

Player said: “If we didn’t have a Canadian in the team and playing in Canada I can assure you, in my opinion only, the series would be quite flat among the Canadian people. Mike is a hero in his country, deservedly so.”

Faldo, though, has simply gone for the two he thinks most strengthens his side. Dyson was the next highest player on the world rankings, while Warren is a recent winner, last season’s Rookie of the Year and was named by Montgomerie among 35 “possibles” for the Ryder Cup.

Rose, still to be capped by Europe, is the top player on show at 13th in the world and a stand-out performance from the 27-year-old in his first appearance on this side of the Atlantic since The Open will underline to Faldo what an asset he could be in Louisville next September.

Montgomerie, Casey, Bradley Dredge and Nick Dougherty are the only four survivors from the side which won by five points in England two years ago, while Miguel Angel Jimenez, Peter Hanson and Thomas Bjorn – a wild card pick along with Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano – are the three Continental players retaining their places.

Previously, the captains have also played and faced each other in the singles, but Faldo and Ballesteros – back in charge after Olazabal stood in for him last time – are in non-playing roles now.

There are differences in the format to the Ryder Cup. Firstly, the Seve Trophy is over four days rather than three and starts tomorrow.

On the first two days, everybody plays just one session of fourballs, Saturday is four greensomes (both players drive and then pick one ball) and four foursomes, then Sunday is 10 singles.

The other difference is that the players – 10 rather than the 12 in the Ryder Cup – get paid. The winners receive £86,000 each, the losers £51,000.

Teams:

Great Britain and Ireland: Justin Rose, Paul Casey, Colin Montgomerie, Bradley Dredge, Graeme Storm, Oliver Wilson, Phillip Archer, Nick Dougherty. Wild cards: Simon Dyson, Marc Warren. Non-playing captain: Nick Faldo.

Continental Europe: Robert Karlsson, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Mikko Ilonen, Raphael Jacquelin, Soren Hansen, Gregory Havret, Peter Hanson, Markus Brier. Wild cards: Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Thomas Bjorn. Non-playing captain: Seve Ballesteros.

Player records: Matches Played Won Halved Lost Pts

GB and Ire

Phillip Archer Debut

Paul Casey 2002-03-05 13 8 0 5 8

Nick Dougherty 2005 5 2 2 1 3

Bradley Dredge 2005 4 1 0 3 1

Simon Dyson Debut

Colin Montgomerie2000-02-03-05 19 8 2 9 9

Justin Rose 2003 5 3 1 1 3.5

Graeme Storm Debut

Marc Warren Debut

Oliver Wilson Debut