ST ANDREWS: Double Ryder Cup star Paul Lawrie has criticised eight of his Medinah winning team-mates who have turned their backs on contesting next week’s Seve Trophy in Versailles.
Six of the eight - Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter - were the top Great Britain and Ireland qualifiers.
Also electing not to tee up on the Saint Nom-la-Bretche course are two of the top six European Team qualifiers in Spain’s Sergio Garcia and Sweden’s Peter Hanson. Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, who topped the list of European Team qualifiers in capturing the PGA Tour season-ending Tour Championship and FedEx Cup, also has declined to play.
“The Seve Trophy I don’t quite understand it to be fair and I think it’s extremely disappointing that a lot of the guys are not playing,” said Lawrie.
“I’m not slagging them off, or I’m not having a go at them, but I just think certainly with Seve’s name attached to it and the idea behind the tournament, it’s kind of the equivalent of the Presidents Cup for the American boys.
“So for many of our boys not to want to play for an event that not only carries Seve’s name, but you get handsomely paid to play in it.
“It’s Seve’s name. I mean, my God, most of us are out there playing because of what Seve did years ago.”REUTERS
