 Casey was picked as GB&I's wild card by captain Colin Montgomerie |
Ryder Cup team-mates Paul Casey and Thomas Levet have been selected by their respective captains as the wildcards for next week's Seve Trophy. England's Casey was picked by Great Britain and Ireland skipper Colin Montgomerie, while France's Levet will play for Continental Europe.
"I'm fortunate I can pick someone of Casey's stature," said Montgomerie.
The biennial matchplay event takes place at the Wynyard Club in County Durham from 22-25 September.
Casey joins fellow Ryder Cup stars David Howell, Paul McGinley, Padraig Harrington and Ian Poulter, who qualified for the team by virtue of their world and European rankings.
Wales' Stephen Dodd and Bradley Dredge, England's Nick Dougherty and Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell make up the 10-man side.
 Levet will play for Continental Europe as a wild card pick |
A number of higher-ranked players on both sides - Sergio Garcia, Luke Donald, Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood - opted out.
"I am looking forward to taking the lead with this talented team as we try to make it three wins in a row over Continental Europe," said Montgomerie.
Casey won the TCL Classic in March but then suffered a slump in form, missing six cuts in a row.
But he has rediscovered the form which saw him help Europe win the Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills in the USA 12 months ago.
He was third at the European Masters and joint seventh at the German Masters last week.
Levet has not had his best season and counts tied sixth at the MCI Heritage in America and 13th at the Masters as his best finishes.
"I selected Thomas Levet as my wildcard pick because he is playing well and he has played in both previous Ryder Cup and Seve Trophy matches," said European captain Jose Maria Olazabal.
The Spaniard took over as captain after countryman Seve Ballesteros was ruled out of playing by injury.
"I have no doubt that this Continental Europe team is strong enough to regain the trophy and we will be competing hard to do so over all four days of the event," he said.
Great Britain and Ireland lead Continental Europe 2-1 in the Seve Trophy series after a two-point victory in Valencia in 2003.
Great Britain & Ireland: C Montgomerie (capt), P Casey, S Dodd, N Dougherty, B Dredge, D Howell, P McGinley, P Harrington, G McDowell, I Poulter.
Continental Europe: JM Olazabal (capt), T Bjorn, E Canonica, N Fasth, P Hanson, MA Jimenez, M Lafeber, T Levet, H Stenson, JF Remesy.
MMIX
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 