McGinley and Van der Velde Named Vivendi Captains

Paul McGinley will again captain Britain and Ireland while Jean Van de Velde is to lead the Continental Europe team at the biennial Vivendi Seve Trophy in Paris next month.

Irishman McGinley led his side to a 16-1/2 11-1/2 victory at the same St Nom La Breteche venue in 2009 while Frenchman Van de Velde will succeed Dane Thomas Bjorn as skipper at the September 15-18 event.

The biennial competition, contested in non-Ryder Cup years, was instigated 11 years ago by the late Seve Ballesteros and his close friend, 2012 Ryder Cup skipper Jose Maria Olazabal, has selected the two captains for the seventh edition.

It's a great honor to be invited back as captain, the 44-year-old McGinley said in a news release.

I'm looking forward to going up against Jean and it's good to have a Frenchman involved on French soil. With Seve's sad passing earlier this year there will be added poignancy.

Van de Velde is looking forward to experiencing his first taste of captaincy.

I was privileged to take part in the first Seve Trophy at Sunningdale and to be part of the winning team captained by Seve, said the 45-year-old.

Captaining the Continental Europe side will be a completely new experience for me and I am honored to be nominated for the role.