Seve Trophy call-up for Fernandez-Castano

Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño has been called into the Continental Europe Team for this week’s Seve Trophy by Golf+ as a replacement for the injured Peter Hanson.

Swede Hanson was forced to withdraw from the biennial contest at St-Nom-La Bretéche Golf Club, in Paris, after succumbing to an on-going back injury that has affected him for most of the 2013 season.

His place in captain José María Olazábal’s ten-man team to take on Sam Torrance’s Great Britain & Ireland side will be taken by Fernandez-Castaño, who makes his third appearance in the contest after playing in 2007 and 2009.

Hanson said: “I am really disappointed not to be able to play in this year’s Seve Trophy. Everyone knows how much I love match-play events and I did everything I possibly could to make José Maria’s team, but it was not to be.

“My back has been an issue for pretty much most of the year and it is still not 100% unfortunately. I have my defence of the BMW Masters in China coming up in three weeks’ time which is part of the Final Series on The European Tour and I want to be in ideal shape for that full run of tournaments, which meant I had to withdraw from this week.

“It is very unfortunate, but I wish José María and the Continental European team the very best of luck.”

Fernandez-Castaño, who has won four and lost five of his previous nine matches in the Seve Trophy by Golf+, said: “When I got the call I was really excited about playing in my third Seve Trophy.

“The Continental Europe team looks very strong and it is a great group of guys are all good friends, so we are really looking forward to the week ahead.”

“I really enjoyed the two previous contests I played, and it is important to support a tournament with Seve’s name on it, not only because of what he did for Spanish golf, but for what he did for the game in Europe and The European Tour as a whole.

“I wanted to show my respect for him. It was a privilege to play under Seve in 2007 and under Thomas Björn in 2009, and it is a dream come true for me now to play in the Seve Trophy with José María as captain.

“The Continental Europe team looks very strong and it is a great group of guys are all good friends, so we are really looking forward to the week ahead.”

Fernandez-Castaño is joined by his fellow Spaniard Miguel Angel Jiménez, Danish duo Thomas Björn and Thorbjørn Olesen, Frenchman Grégory Bourdy, Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts, Finland’s Mikko Ilonen  Dutchman Joost Luiten, and the Italian pair of Matteo Manassero and Francesco Molinari.

They will take on a Great Britain & Ireland team featuring five Englishmen;  Paul Casey, Tommy Fleetwood, Simon Khan, David Lynn and Chris Wood, four Scotsmen; Stephen Gallacher, Scott Jamieson, Paul Lawrie, and Marc Warren, and Welshman Jamie Donaldson.

The event format will be similar to previous editions, the only slight alteration coming on Saturday which will now consist of two sessions of four foursomes contested instead of four morning greensomes followed by four afternoon foursomes. The rest of the format remains the same, with a series of five fourball matches on each of the first two days and ten singles on the final day. As with The Ryder Cup, a team requires 14½ points for victory.

Continental Europe won the first edition of the contest 13 years ago, while Great Britain and Ireland have won the last six matches in succession, claiming a 15½-12½ success two years ago at St-Nom-La Bretèche Golf Club, which hosts the event for the third consecutive time this week.

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor