Faldo factor hints at Seve Trophy upset

Nick Faldo's man management skills will be tested for the first time this week as he leads Great Britain & Ireland out against Seve Ballesteros' Continental Europe and don't be surprised if his side come a cropper in the Seve Trophy. On the face of it GB & I look the stronger of the two sides with a combined ranking of 795 edging out the Europeans' 810, but 15 points divided by the 24 participants involved is a menial advantage in a matchplay system that laughs in the face of strokeplay scoring. The key elements here are good pairing and team spirit. Which is where GB & I could come unstuck. Were any other captain involved the Islanders would be certainties to retain the trophy they have only ever lost on one previous occasion but putting Faldo in charge of a team is the golfing equivalent to hiring Ronnie Biggs as a security guard. A fierce team competitor at the peak of his playing powers Faldo, much like Tiger Woods, liked to intimidate both opponents and team-mates alike. "I heard Eric Bristow say he would never stay with the England darts team because the day they know everything about me is the day they beat me," he said recently. "I remember that even now." You can imagine the inspiring team talks now. Faldo also does not see eye to eye with Colin Montgomerie, who is an ever-present in the Seve Trophy with an unsurpassed track record of nine points from eight wins and two halved matches. If anyone can derail Monty's train it's Faldo.Seve Ballesteros meanwhile is an inspirational leader, a true motivator and this year has the advantage of having personally designed the Heritage course in Killenard, Ireland. He can be trusted to get the best out of a side boasting experience, form and potential. The Top Points Scorer markets are always something of a stab in the dark before the pairings are known but Soren Hansen, who won the Mercedes-Benz Championship in his last outing, is playing out of his skin at the moment with three top threes in his last five tournaments. Though favourite, the Dane is still good value at 5/1. For GB & I, Phillip Archer at 14s can continue the form that has seen him finish second twice in his last three tournaments. Verdict: 2pts Continental Europe @ 6/4 (SportingBet); 1pt Søren Hansen top European @ 5/1 (SportingBet); 1pt Phillip Archer top GB & Ire player @ 14/1 (SportingBet). (Editor's Note: Nick Faldo was one of Britain's greatest golfers but question marks have been raised over his captaincy skills. Follow all the latest prices on the Seve Trophy with SportingBet to see how he gets on!)