PAUL LAWRIE, STEPHEN GALLACHER LEAD OFF FOR GB AND I IN SEVE TROPHY

SEVE TROPHY PREVIEW 

FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

José María Olazábal will send his most experienced pairing out first to try and get an early point on the board in the opening fourball matches on Thursday, as Continental Europe attempt to wrest the Seve Trophy by Golf+ from Great Britain and Ireland.

GB and I have held a vice-like grip on the Seve Trophy, winning the last six encounters with Continental Europe only tasting success the once in the inaugural contest in 2000. Olazábal is looking to stop that run at St-Nom-La-Bretèche, with Thomas Björn and Miguel Angel Jiménez lead the way in the top match against the first Scottish pairing of Paul Lawrie and rookie Stephen Gallacher.

Björn has played in all but one of the previous contests – leading the side instead  in 2009 - while Jiménez is the only player to have competed in all seven Seve Trophy competitions. They are the two most capped players in the history of the biennial team event with a combined total of 59 matches between them.

Nordea Masters champion Mikko Ilonen, making his second appearance, and Dane Thorbjørn Olesen represent the continentals in the second match against Chris Wood, also making his second appearance for GB&I, and debutant Tommy Fleetwood, who recently claimed his maiden title at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.
Paul Casey, the most experienced player of the GB&I team who is making his fifth appearance this week, is paired with rookie Simon Khan against the Italian pair of Francesco Molinari, one of three players from last year’s victorious European Ryder Cup team on show, and BMW PGA Champion Matteo Manassero, who two years ago became the youngest player to compete in the event aged only 18 at the time.

Dutchman Joost Luiten and home favourite Gregory Bourdy, arguably the most in-form pairing of the Continental Europeans having both won on The European Tour over the past five weeks, present a formidable pairing against Jamie Donaldson and David Lynn in Match Four.

And the anchor match pits the second Scottish pairing of Marc Warren and Scott Jamieson against another of the heroes from Medinah, Nicolas Colsaerts, and Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño, a late replacement for the injured Peter Hanson.

Olazábal said:  “Our record is not very good in this event but we are here this week to change that. We are here to win, we have a strong team and that’s our goal this week. We have a little bit of experience in this team, players who have played Ryder Cup, and it is going to be a good match.”

Torrance, who led Europe to victory in The 2002 Ryder Cup, said: “It is fantastic to be here and an honour to be captain. I’ve got a good, young team that are desperate to get out and get some points.  The pairings were pretty easy.  They were all pretty compatible.  I tried to put people I thought were good friends, played practice rounds together, to try to make them feel more comfortable out there and do the job that they do best. It is going to be a great match, exciting, and I think we have a great chance.”

GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND		CONTINENTAL EUROPE
1	11H35	Paul LAWRIE (SCO)	V	Thomas BJØRN (DEN)
		Stephen GALLACHER (SCO)		Miguel Angel JIMÉNEZ (ESP)
MATCH	TIME	GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND		CONTINENTAL EUROPE
2	11H50	Tommy FLEETWOOD (ENG)	V	Mikko ILONEN (FIN)
		Chris WOOD (ENG)		Thorbjørn OLESEN (DEN)
MATCH	TIME	GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND		CONTINENTAL EUROPE
3	12H05	Paul CASEY (ENG)	V	Francesco MOLINARI (ITA)
		Simon KHAN (ENG)		Matteo MANASSERO (ITA)
	TIME	GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND		CONTINENTAL EUROPE
	12H20	Jamie DONALDSON (WAL)	V	Joost LUITEN (NED)
		David LYNN (ENG)		Grégory BOURDY (FRA)
	TIME	GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND		CONTINENTAL EUROPE
	12H35	Marc WARREN (SCO)	V	Nicolas COLSAERTS (BEL)
		Scott JAMIESON (SCO)		Gonzalo FDEZ-CASTAÑO (ESP)