Building a sense of history and tradition

The Seve Trophy The story so far: Philip Reid looks back at the origin of the series and the four stagings of the competition…

The Seve TrophyThe story so far: Philip Reidlooks back at the origin of the series and the four stagings of the competition.

The Seve Trophy is not the Ryder Cup. It doesn't pretend to be. After all, it doesn't have the same history. Not every player who qualifies to play bothers to play. In fact, those who do turn up - as they will for the fifth edition, which starts at The Heritage at Killenard, near Portlaoise, tomorrow - will receive prize money for participating.

Yet, the Seve Trophy is a stepping stone for aspiring Ryder Cup players from Europe, pitting as it does teams representing Britain and Ireland (even if there is no Irish player on this occasion) against continental Europe in matchplay competition, with fourballs, foursomes and singles over four days (rather than three in the Ryder Cup) to determine the winner.

The concept for the competition came from the vision of Severiano Ballesteros, the talismanic figurehead of European golf through much of the 1980s and 1990s, and is played in alternate years to the Ryder Cup.

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This year, for the first time, it is wisely slotted into the same week in the calendar as the Presidents Cup.

The first Seve Trophy was staged at Sunningdale in 2000, when continental Europe triumphed. The last three matches, however, have been won by Britain and Ireland.

Can the sequence be extended? Or can the continentals stop the rot?

Seve Trophy 2000, Sunningdale, England

Britain and Ireland 12½

Continental Europe 13½

The teams had been stuck together, as if by superglue.

Fittingly, perhaps, Seve himself provided the remedy. It was his singles win over Colin Montgomerie, then at the height of his game, that gave continental Europe victory in the inaugural match.

Ballesteros won the top singles against his fellow-captain, a win that gave continental Europe the edge in the match having gone into the final day's singles locked at eight points apiece.

That had been the story of the match. The first day had finished 4-4. The second at 6-6. The third at 8-8.

While Ballesteros started the final-day charge by the continentals, he got back-up from his compatriots.

Sergio Garcia had a birdie-birdie finish to wrest a half point from Darren Clarke, while Jose Maria Olazabal secured the match-winning point by beating Gary Orr 2 and 1 to get his team over the finishing line.

Seve Trophy 2002, Druids Glen, Ireland

Britain and Ireland 14½

Continental Europe 11½

Many players had returned directly from the US Masters to go straight into the second Seve Trophy, where the weather made it a real battle of attrition. Yet, for Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley, the match on home soil proved to be memorable as they finished as joint top scorers with four points out of a possible five, with Harrington securing the winning point.

Of the two Dubliners' contribution, team captain Colin Montgomerie remarked, "with all the pressure on them, a terrific performance".

In truth, B&I had never looked like losing this match.

The home team finished the first day 5-3 ahead, were 10-6 up after the second and went into the final day's singles, in which the continentals did mount something of a fight-back, needing three-and-a-half points to claim victory.

Once again, just as he had at Sunningdale two years previously, Ballesteros beat Montgomerie in the top singles. But Clarke took the first point for B&I and the victory was cemented with further wins by McGinley and Lee Westwood, before Harrington defeated Olazabal 3 and 2 to give his side outright victory.

Seve Trophy 2003, El Saler, Spain

Britain and Ireland 15

Continental Europe 13

Controversy! In the Seve Trophy? While Britain and Ireland retained the trophy, there wasn't much celebrating. Certainly not from Padraig Harrington, despite holing the putt which gave B&I the win.

His singles with Olazabal was, for the most part, conducted in a nervy silence after an incident on the third green.

Olazabal, eight feet from the hole in three, pointed to what he thought were two pitch-marks on the line of his putt, but Harrington believed it needed a referee's decision on whether they were indeed pitch-marks and could be repaired.

As Harrington turned to look for an official, Olazabal began the repair work. After Harrington spoke to him, Olazabal conceded the hole.

"I was not trying to question his integrity, but that's what he thought," said Harrington.

It wasn't the only incident. Just before his round, Thomas Bjorn came down with a neck injury.

As in the Ryder Cup, a system exists whereby injured players can be awarded a half point with a player of the opposing captain's choosing, whose name has previously been placed in an envelope.

But that has to happen at least 30 minutes before the start of a session, and Bjorn's injury only materialised after the singles had started.

Seve Trophy 2005, Wynyard Club, England

Britain and Ireland 16½

Continental Europe 11½

Britain and Ireland secured a third win in a row, with Welshman Bradley Dredge putting his team into an unassailable lead with a 2 and 1 win over Thomas Levet.

Unlike the two previous matches, where B&I had carried leads into the final day, Colin Montgomerie's men only secured a win with a 7-3 dominance of the singles.

Monty, though, was not one of those to win. He suffered defeat to Olazabal, putting his singles record in the Seve Trophy at 1-3.

Ironically, the match was sealed by Dredge, who had failed to garner a point from his previous three matches.