Changes made to keep rivalry friendly

Captains Colin Montgomerie and Jose Maria Olazabal have agreed on a change to this week’s Seve Trophy – to try to avoid any grudge matches.

Olazabal has taken over from Seve Ballesteros for Continental Europe against Montgomerie’s Britain and Ireland side at The Wynyard near Middlesbrough.

In the three previous matches Montgomerie and Ballesteros sat down at the same table before the final day and alternately chose who played whom in the singles.

This time, however, the Ryder Cup format has been adopted with both captains handing in their list of all 10 players without knowing the opposition’s order.

The one exception is at the top, where Montgomerie will be tackling Olazabal in a repeat of the 1984 British amateur final the Spaniard won 4&2.

Asked about the previous system Montgomerie said: “Sometimes I thought it might encourage a grudge match and I didn’t want that.”

Even though the contest brings together mostly Ryder Cup team-mates – eight of last year’s side in Detroit are involved – the 2003 match in Valencia ended in highly controversial fashion.

Olazabal and Harrington met in the singles and on the third green Harrington objected to the Spanish star repairing marks on the green before the referee had inspected them.

The double Masters champion, feeling his integrity was being questioned, conceded the hole and there was an extremely tense atmosphere for the rest of the game.

It ended all square and the pair then had a lengthy exchange, followed by a meeting a month later.

“We managed to clarify the situation,” commented Olazabal today. “I was not a happy camper and made it clear. That was two years ago and we leave it there. I still talk to him.”

Of course any grudge matches could still happen, but it will be because of the luck of the draw.

The match starts on Thursday with the first of two series of fourballs and Montgomerie has resurrected two of Europe’s successful partnerships from Detroit.

David Howell and Paul Casey, who won a vital fourball point, take on Swedes Niclas Fasth and Peter Hanson, while Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley face French pair Thomas Levet and Jean-Francois Remesy.

The two Dubliners were also partners at Druids Glen in 2002 and won four points out of five. Their only defeat was to Olazabal and Ballesteros.

Montgomerie’s approach for the opening series did not take much fathoming. The other two Englishmen, Ian Poulter and Nick Dougherty, and the two Welshmen, Stephen Dodd and Bradley Dredge, are partners, which left Montgomerie to play with Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell.

Britain and Ireland start favourites even without three of their leading lights in Luke Donald, Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood, who all turned down the match.

Olazabal is without Sergio Garcia and Bernhard Langer and whereas Montgomerie’s side is comprised solely of players in the world’s top 100, the opposition includes Peter Hanson, Jean-Francois Remesy and Emanuele Canonica, respectively ranked 104th, 119th and 184th.

Most of the north-east crowd at today's pro-am were unconcerned that Donald, Clarke, Westwood, Garcia and Langer were not there.

They were more interested in chasing the autographs of football stars Michael Owen and Alan Shearer, Ashes heroes Steve Harmison and Paul Collingwood and former triple jump great Jonathan Edwards.

Shearer and Harmison partnered Montgomerie into second place – Harrington won with Sunderland manager Mick McCarthy as a member of his side – but Owen and Edwards finished 18th of the 21 teams.

Not that it was a surprise. Their professional was Ballesteros, the tournament host who plans to make his return from 23 months out injured at next month’s Madrid Open.

Friday also sees five fourball games, while Saturday’s play switches to greensomes (both players drive and then pick one ball) and foursomes.

Montgomerie would not be surprised if at least eight of the players in action go on to represent Europe at the K Club near Dublin next September.

“These 20 players are in a Ryder Cup squad if you like,” he said.