Seve Trophy teams announced

Jose Maria Olazabal and Sam Torrance have finalised their teams for the 2013 Seve Trophy, which takes place at Saint-Nom-La-Breteche GC in Paris from October 3-6

Seve Trophy

Jose Maria Olazabal and Sam Torrance have finalised their teams for the 2013 Seve Trophy, which takes place at Saint-Nom-La-Breteche GC in Paris from October 3-6.

The GB&I side looks weaker on paper, with the likes of Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell opting to skip the event.

Four players - Stephen Gallacher, Tommy Fleetwood, Simon Khan and David Lynn - will make their tournament debuts, with Paul Casey and Paul Lawrie the only two players to have competed more than once.

By contrast, the Continental Europeans look very strong.

In-form Gregory Bourdy and Joist Luiten make their debuts, joining fellow newcomer Thorbjorn Olesen and a raft of other top players, including Nicolas Colsaerts, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Matteo Manassero.

Torrance, GB&I captain for the first time, said: "I think we have got a good blend of players in the team, and I'm really looking forward to working with all of them.

"It promises to be an exciting contest. Hopefully we can retain the trophy and make it seven in a row."

Olazabal, who captains the Continental European team for the second time, added:

"I think we have a very strong team this year, with a good mix of players. It's a tournament that was very close to Seve's heart, and we will have to show some of his fighting spirit to win this year and improve our recent record."

GB&I claimed a 15.5-12.5 victory last year for a sixth consecutive Seve Trophy win.

Full teams:

GB&I

Captain: Sam Torrance

Paul Casey, Jamie Donaldson, Stephen Gallacher, Tommy Fleetwood, Scott Jamieson, Simon Khan, Paul Lawrie, David Lynn, Marc Warren, Chris Wood.

Continental Europe Captain: Jose Maria Olazabal

Thomas Bjorn, Gregory Bourdy, Nicolas Colsaerts, Peter Hanson, Mikko Ilonen, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Joost Luiten, Matteo Manassero, Francesco Molinari, Thorbjorn Olesen

Nick Bonfield
Features Editor

Nick Bonfield joined Golf Monthly in 2012 after graduating from Exeter University and earning an NCTJ-accredited journalism diploma from News Associates in Wimbledon. He is responsible for managing production of the magazine, sub-editing, writing, commissioning and coordinating all features across print and online. Most of his online work is opinion-based and typically centres around the Majors and significant events in the global golfing calendar. Nick has been an avid golf fan since the age of ten and became obsessed with the professional game after watching Mike Weir and Shaun Micheel win The Masters and PGA Championship respectively in 2003. In his time with Golf Monthly, he's interviewed the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Jose Maria Olazabal, Henrik Stenson, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Billy Horschel and has ghost-written columns for Westwood, Wayne Riley, Matthew Southgate, Chris Wood and Eddie Pepperell. Nick is a 12-handicap golfer and his favourite courses include Old Head, Sunningdale New, Penha Longha, Valderrama and Bearwood Lakes. If you have a feature pitch for Nick, please email nick.bonfield@futurenet.com with 'Pitch' in the subject line. Nick is currently playing: Driver: TaylorMade M1 Fairway wood: TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Hybrid: Ping Crossover Irons (4-9): Nike Vapor Speed Wedges: Cleveland CBX Full Face, 56˚, Titleist Vokey SM4, 60˚ Putter: testing in progress! Ball: TaylorMade TP5x