Excited Seve has hat-trick in his sights

SEVE BALLESTEROS is determined to make it a hat-trick of wins as captain when he leads Europe against Asia in the Royal Trophy in Thailand.

The legendary Spaniard oversaw the Ryder Cup win in 1997 and then repeated the trick in the Seve Trophy, which pitches Great Britain and Ireland against mainland Europe, three years later.

But his hopes of writing another glorious chapter in an illustrious career will be severely tested in the inaugural event, which was first mooted three years ago by the five-time major winner.

Ballesteros said: “I really want to win as I don’t want to end my record. I won the Ryder Cup as a captain, I won the Seve Trophy as a captain and I want to win this as a captain too.

“We are taking the competition very seriously. I’m proud of this great team, it’s the best possible one from Europe and I’m looking forward to competing against the Asian team.

“The players are happy to be a part of this tournament and we think it has a great future. We are making history here.

“The Ryder Cup started in 1927 and the Royal Trophy in 2006. Maybe in a few years time this will be one of the best sporting events in the world. It’s great to be a part of an historic moment.”

The respect Ballesteros has among his peers is evident and Paul McGinley said that it was playing under the Spaniard that was one of the draws of the event.

“Any opportunity I get to represent Europe is a great honour, especially a team captained by Seve,” he stated.

“I grew up with Seve as my hero and so to be in the same team with him, Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam is a big thing for me.”

Ballesteros has put his faith in his wildcard picks, the battle-hardened duo of Faldo and Woosnam, in today’s final foursomes match with Thai stars Thongchai Jaidee and Thaworn Wiratchant, who are Asia’s top players over the past two seasons.

There is no doubt in the 48-year-old’s mind that the matchplay experience of the two men, who starred under him in the 1997 Ryder Cup win, is what he is looking for.

“I had a conversation with Nick and Ian and they were happy to play together,” said Ballesteros, who believes the Royal Trophy should become an annual event.

“For foursomes, they are the best possible team as they’re very consistent and have a lot of experience.

“It is important for our players to feel happy. The competition is going to be difficult but on top of that they must enjoy being together out there.”

Woosnam, the 1991 Masters champion, formed a formidable partnership with Faldo in the Ryder Cup, notching five wins and two halves from 10 outings together.

Faldo is also Europe’s record points scorer in the Ryder Cup and together the pair represent the next two European captains in the historic event.

The Welshman said: “Nick is very steady and is always going to be consistent while I am an aggressive player.

“It is a bit different now as we are a lot older but we have not lost our competitive edge and it’ll be fun out there.”

In the other foursomes, McGinley and Graeme McDowell face Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa, David Howell and Kenneth Ferrie square up to SK Ho and Keiichiro Fukabori, while Thomas Bjorn and Henrik Stenson meet Yasuharu Imano and Zhang Lian-wei.

Four fourball matches will also be played today with eight singles matches tomorrow at the Amata Spring Country Club, just south of Bangkok.