The Seve Trophy was a biennial golf tournament between teams of professional male

golfers; one team representing Great Britain and Ireland, the other team
representing Continental Europe. The tournament was played in years when there is
no Ryder Cup. The competition was held eight times from 2000 to 2013.

The Trophy was named after five times major winner Seve Ballesteros, the most
successful golfer ever from Continental Europe who was one of the key instigators
of the tournament. He made an exceptional contribution to the European Ryder Cup
successes of the 1980s and 1990s, and came to be regarded as an exceptionally keen
team man in a usually individualistic sport.

A sponsorship deal with the French media conglomerate Vivendi meant that the 2009
was known as The Vivendi Trophy with Seve Ballesteros, the 2011 event was the
Vivendi Seve Trophy and the 2013 event was known as the Seve Trophy by Golf+.

Contents
1 Schedule
2 Final event
3 Format
4 Team qualification and selection
5 Results
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
Schedule

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The event was played in years when there is no Ryder Cup. Initially this meant even
numbered years, but because the 2001 Ryder Cup was postponed by a year due to the
terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, the Seve Trophy was then played in odd
numbered years. In 2002 both events were played.

In 2000 and 2002 the event was played in April but from 2003 it was played in the
autumn. In 2005, 2007 and 2013 it was held in the same week as Europe's Ryder Cup
opponents, Team USA, took on the "International Team" in the Presidents Cup, while
in 2009 and 2011 it was scheduled during the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs.

The Seve Trophy was an "approved special event" on the European Tour. A week in the
tour schedule was set aside for it, but the prize money did not count towards the
Race to Dubai (previously the Order of Merit).

Final event
The 2013 event appears to be the last in the foreseeable future.[1][2][3]

Format

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The Seve Trophy was a team event for professional male golfers; one team
representing Great Britain and Ireland, the other team representing Continental
Europe.

In 2000 and 2002 the trophy was contested over three days (Friday to Sunday) with 8
foursomes/fourball/greensomes matches on each of the first two days (4 in the
morning, 4 in the afternoon) and 10 singles matches on the last day. The format was
therefore similar to that of the Ryder Cup except that there were less singles
matches, since each team consisted of ten players, whereas in the Ryder Cup there
are twelve players on each team. An unusual feature was the inclusion of one set of
greensome matches.

In 2003 the trophy was extended to four days (Thursday to Sunday). On the first two
days there were 5 fourball matches each day. The third day had 4 greensomes in the
morning and 4 foursomes in the afternoon, with 10 singles matches on the fourth
day. This format remained the same until 2013 when the greensome matches on the
third morning were replaced with foursomes matches.

The winner of each match scores a point for his team, with ½ a point each for any
match that is tied after the 18 holes. In 2000 and 2002 there were 26 points
available and so 13½ points were required for victory. Since 2003 there have been
28 points available and so 14½ are now required for victory.

A foursomes match is a competition between two teams of two golfers. The golfers on
the same team take alternate shots throughout the match, with the same ball. Each
hole is won by the team that completes the hole in the fewest shots. A greensomes
match is similar to a foursomes match except that both players tee off on every
hole. Each pair then chooses one of their balls and alternate strokes are then
played with that ball to complete the hole. A fourball match is also a competition
between two teams of two golfers, but all four golfers play their own ball
throughout the round rather than alternating shots, and each hole is won by the
team whose individual golfer has the lowest score. A singles match is a standard
match play competition between two golfers.

Team qualification and selection

Two captains were chosen by the European Tour. From 2000 to 2005 the captain was
automatically one of the members of his team. From 2007 they were non-playing
captains.

Eligibility for the Seve Trophy was similar that of the Europe team in the Ryder
Cup. Players had to be Europeans and be a member of the European Tour.[4]

From 2000 to 2005 the captain had one "captain's pick", a player chosen at the
discretion of the team captains, while in 2007 this was increased to two. However
from 2009 team qualification was based solely on qualification criteria:

The leading five eligible players in the Official World Golf Rankings
The leading five eligible players on the European Tour Race to Dubai, not already
selected on the first criterion
Results

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Year Venue Winning team Score Britain and Ireland captain Europe captain
2013 Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche, France Europe Continental Europe 15–13
Sam Torrance José María Olazábal
2011 Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche, France United Kingdom Great Britain and
Republic of Ireland Ireland 15½–12½ Paul McGinley Jean van de Velde
2009 Golf de Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche, France United Kingdom Great Britain and
Republic of Ireland Ireland 16½–11½ Paul McGinley Thomas Bjørn
2007 The Heritage Golf & Spa Resort, Ireland United Kingdom Great Britain and
Republic of Ireland Ireland 16½–11½ Nick Faldo Seve Ballesteros
2005 Wynyard Golf Club, England United Kingdom Great Britain and Republic of
Ireland Ireland 16½–11½ Colin Montgomerie José María Olazábal
2003 Campo de Golf Parador El Saler, Spain United Kingdom Great Britain and
Republic of Ireland Ireland 15–13 Colin Montgomerie Seve Ballesteros
2002 Druids Glen, Ireland United Kingdom Great Britain and Republic of Ireland
Ireland 14½–11½ Colin Montgomerie Seve Ballesteros
2000 Sunningdale Golf Club, England Europe Continental Europe 13½–12½
Colin Montgomerie Seve Ballesteros
Of the 8 matches, the Great Britain and Ireland team have won 6 while the
Continental Europe team have won 2.

See also