Golf: Wildcards named for Seve Trophy

LONDON - Ryder Cup players Paul Casey of Britain and Thomas Levet of France were named today as the two wildcards for this month's Seve Trophy at The Wynyard Golf Club in Country Durham, England.

Englishman Casey completed the 10-man line-up for Britain and Ireland captain Colin Montgomerie while Levet was the final choice by Jose Maria Olazabal for the Continental Europe side.

Both captains gain automatic selection for the Ryder Cup-style team competition with the remaining eight players on each side qualifying via the world rankings and the European Tour order of merit.

Britain and Ireland lead the series 2-1, with Continental Europe having won the inaugural competition in 2000 at Sunningdale Golf Club in England.

Although 10 Ryder Cup players will be in action at The Wynyard Golf Club from September 22-25, four leading European golfers have opted out of this year's competition.

World No 6 Sergio Garcia, 14th-ranked Luke Donald, world No 17 Darren Clarke and 2000 European No 1 Lee Westwood have all pulled out.

Teams:

Great Britain and Ireland: Colin Montgomerie (Scotland, captain), Paul Casey (England), Stephen Dodd (Wales), Nick Dougherty (England), Bradley Dredge (Wales), Padraig Harrington (Ireland), David Howell (England), Paul McGinley (Ireland), Graeme McDowell (Northern Ireland), Ian Poulter (England).

Continental Europe: Jose Maria Olazabal (Spain, captain), Thomas Bjorn (Denmark), Emanuele Canonica (Italy), Niclas Fasth (Sweden), Peter Hanson (Sweden), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain), Maarten Lafeber (Netherlands), Thomas Levet (France), Henrik Stenson (Sweden), Jean-Francois Remesy (France).

- REUTERS