Experienced quartet has a combined total of 20 previous Ryder Cup appearances

They join the eight automatic qualifiers for Team Europe

Bjørn's side takes on the United States at Le Golf National, France

European Captain Thomas Bjørn has selected Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson to complete his 12-player team for The 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National, France. The four captain’s picks join Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Rory McIlroy, Francesco Molinari, Alex Noren, Thorbjørn Olesen, Jon Rahm and Justin Rose in Bjørn’s side to take on Jim Furyk’s United States team as Europe seeks to regain The Ryder Cup in Paris from September 28-30, 2018.

Garcia, Casey, Poulter and Stenson have a wealth of experience in the biennial contest with a combined total of 20 previous Ryder Cup appearances, the quartet contributing 48½ points to the European cause.

Garcia and Stenson are both Major Champions and will feature in the biennial contest for the ninth time and fifth time respectively, with Garcia only three points away from becoming Europe’s leading all-time points scorer.

Englishman Poulter has played a key role in four wins from his five previous appearances, including the streak of three consecutive European victories in 2010, 2012 and 2014, while his compatriot Casey returns to the Ryder Cup arena after an absence of ten years, having played in three successive Ryder Cups from 2004 to 2008, contributing to two European victories.

Bjørn said: “These four were desperate to be part of The Ryder Cup and as soon as they got the call, their minds went straight to, ‘right, we’ve got to achieve something in Paris’.

“I always say there are players who want to be in The Ryder Cup team, and there are players who want to play in The Ryder Cup. These four players want to play in the Ryder Cup. They want to be on the golf course and win points.

“It makes me very happy to see this group of 12. I believe that together we can do great things.

“If I had written down 12 names before I started my captaincy journey, it wouldn't have been far away from this. I'm very delighted with this team and I'm very proud to be captain for these 12 players. They bring so much to European golf, and they are just a fantastic group of guys.

“We know what we are up against. We know what America brings, but I'm confident that this is the group of guys that can do the job.

Garcia has contributed 22½ points in his eight previous Ryder Cup appearances and is joint fifth on the list of all-time European points scorers. The Spaniard, who won the Masters Tournament in 2017, has been part of five victorious European teams, and has a particularly impressive foursomes record, having won nine and halved three of his 15 matches in the format.

Garcia said: “It feels amazing. I’m very thankful to Thomas for believing in me. I know that it probably wasn't an easy decision, but he knows what I bring to the team, not only game-wise but inside the team room.

“It's been a tough year. I've been working hard. I feel like my game is coming along. Obviously I played quite nicely in Greensboro a couple of weeks back, and now I'm trying to be as ready as I can be to help the European Team win that Cup back. That's the goal and that's what we want.

“It is very exciting for me to be part of another Ryder Cup team, and I'm going to give everything I have, not only on the golf course, but in the team room, to make sure that some of those rookies and some of the other guys feel as comfortable as possible and try to make them better and more comfortable. Hopefully that helps us all to get our goal, which is winning The Ryder Cup again.

Casey is back in the European Team for the first time in a decade after returning to winning ways in the United States at the Valspar Championship, with a further five top ten finishes worldwide in 2018. The 41 year old started his Ryder Cup career in fine fashion in 2004, teaming up with David Howell to defeat Furyk and Chad Campbell in the Saturday fourballs as Europe sealed a record-equalling 18½-9½ win at Oakland Hills Country Club. The 13-time European Tour winner went on to win five points from nine matches across his three Ryder Cup appearances.

Casey said: “It’s been ten years since I last played a Ryder Cup. I’ve put a lot in to this, so to stand here confirmed as part of this team is amazing, I’m very honoured. It’s great to play for Captain Bjørn and I’m very excited.

“I’ve had ups and downs in my career. At times I’ve questioned the success I would have in the future, but I’ve stayed very consistent and focused on what I was doing. I’ve played very, very good golf in the last three, four, five years and put The Ryder Cup in the crosshairs and made it a very big goal. I re-joined the Tour and right now I’m playing some of the best golf I’ve ever played.

“I only wanted to be a part of the team if I felt I could be a great contributor, which I know I can be. Once I announced my intentions to Thomas it was full-tilt. This is just the tip of the iceberg. We have to push on and go to Paris and win and I’m excited to get back to somewhere I feel I belong.

Poulter has an enviable Ryder Cup record, winning 12 of his 18 matches, and he remains undefeated in the singles. He has enjoyed an impressive season, finishing just outside the automatic qualification spots with four top tens on the European Tour added to a victory at the Houston Open on the US PGA Tour.

The 42 year old has given European fans many memorable Ryder Cup moments, including his performance in 2012 at the Medinah Country Club when he won all four of his matches as Europe produced a famous comeback.

Poulter said: “This feels extra special to be part of another Ryder Cup Team. For Thomas to give me the call yesterday to say ‘I’d like you to join this great team’ means absolutely everything to me. It’s going to be an incredible spectacle.

“It is a very strong US team but when you look at the European Team on paper now I get goose bumps just standing here thinking about it.

“This Ryder Cup is everything to me and for me to know I am going to be part of that team, hopefully part of a victorious team, and to lift that trophy again, keeps me going.

“It has been a tough two years – 208th in the world rankings two years ago. That little gold trophy kept my heart beating and to be competing for that again is magical.

Two-time Race to Dubai winner and 2016 Open Champion Stenson formed a formidable partnership with fellow Major winner Rose as Europe secured the last of three consecutive Ryder Cup wins in 2014. The pair were victorious in their three matches at Gleneagles, including a comprehensive 5&4 win over Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson in the Friday fourballs.

The Olympic silver medal winner has contributed eight points to the European cause over his four appearances, beginning with the 2006 victory at the K Club, with his most recent point a 3&2 defeat of Jordan Spieth in the Singles at Hazeltine.

Stenson said: “It means a lot to me. I’ve got some of the greatest memories of my career from being part of the European Ryder Cup team, so to get that phone call to be playing in Paris is incredible. I’m super-excited and I’m going to do my very best to show up with my best form possible.

“It’s going to be a great venue. Europe has one of the strongest teams we’ve ever had, so does America, so it’s all set for possibly the greatest battle ever.

Le Golf National, France, will host The 2018 Ryder Cup from September 28-30, 2018, when Europe will try to regain the Ryder Cup following defeat at Hazeltine National two years ago. Bjørn’s team will be looking to extend an impressive winning record on home soil which stretches back to Valderrama, Spain, in 1997 – the first time the biennial contest was played on Continental Europe.

Palmarés Sergio García

Palmarés Paul Casey

Palmarés Ian Poulter

Palmarés Henrik Stenson

Sergio García beats Jim Furyk at Ryder Cup 2012 (credit: Getty Images)

2012 Ryder Cup winning European Team (credit: Getty Images)

2014 Ryder Cup winning European Team (credit: Getty Images)

The venue of the Andalucía Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio García Foundation, to be held from October 18-21 under the sponsorship of the Council of Tourism and Sport of the Junta de Andalucía is one of the most exciting layouts in continental Europe. Tight fairways, small firm greens and relentless wind present a stiff challenge up to the last shot.

There is no sure win at Valderrama, but only six of the 21 Tour events staged at this historic layout – besides the Ryder Cup – have gone to extra holes.

Scottish duel

Sandy Lyle and Colin Montgomerie starred in the first of these showdowns at the 1992 Volvo Masters. Lyle led by four entering the final round, but Monty worked his way up with a superb 69. The lead was shared for most of the day until Lyle three-putted for bogey on 14. He came back with a birdie on 15 and saved a miraculous par on 17 after a shanked 9-iron hit a tree out of bounds and bounced back into light rough.

They ended tied in 287 (+3). On the first play-off hole, Lyle hit a perfect tee shot. Monty tried to fade his in a left-to-right wind, but hit a tree 60 yards out and ended his challenge.

This was the 18th and last of Lyle’s European Tour victories. As for Montgomerie, he came back by winning the following edition of the Volvo Masters in 1993, the year he triggered his incredible feat of winning seven European Tour Orders of Merit in a row.

Tiger and Jiménez face-to-face

One of the best remembered play-offs at Valderrama pitched local hero Miguel Ángel Jiménez against a dominant Tiger Woods at the 1999 WGC-American Express Championship.

Woods looked to be cruising towards his eighth win of the season three strokes ahead of Jiménez, but disaster awaited him in the final stretch. After bogeying 16, a triple bogey 8 on 17 put Jiménez one ahead on the last tee, supported by a thrilled home crowd. The Spanish dreams were shattered as Miguel failed to par 18 (278 -6) and the then world number one ensured victory with a perfect birdie on the first extra hole.

A handshake at twilight

At the 2002 Volvo Masters Bernhard Langer and Colin Montgomerie agreed to share the title as night fell in Valderrama. Langer and Montgomerie had tied on 281 (-3) after signing for scores of 67 and 70.

The play-off was delayed because Montgomerie was whisked from the recording unit at the 18th green to the television compound to view a video tape of an incident at the 10th. There had been a possibility that Montgomerie had addressed a moving ball before tapping in, which could have resulted in a two stroke penalty.

Once it was determined that there had been no rules infraction, both players headed for the 18th tee in the gathering gloom. After halving two extra holes in pars, both contenders accepted the offer by Ken Schofield, The European Tour’s Executive Director, to share the spoils and shook hands in pitch darkness.

The decision to share the trophy was not unprecedented, and coincidentally the last occasion a draw was declared also involved Langer. He and Seve Ballesteros had completed four holes of a play-off for the 1986 Trophée Lancôme when darkness brought proceedings to a close in Paris.

The longest duel in Valderrama history

The following year, the 2003 Volvo Masters ended in a tie between Sweden’s Fredrik Jacobson and Spain’s Carlos Rodiles. It was a 28-hole Sunday for the leaders, as they had to complete six holes of the weather suspended third round and needed four extra holes to determine the winner.

The final stretch was as tense as could be. Rodiles bogeyed 16 to trail by one, but 17 proved to be key once again as the Spaniard birdied while Jacobson spun his third into the water for a double bogey. The local favourite held a two stroke lead going into the final hole, which at some courses is a comfortable lead, but not at Valderrama.

Rodiles tugged his tee shot and had to settle for a bogey while Jacobson conjured up a towering 9-iron from 151 yards to two and a half feet for the birdie that forced the play-off.

Rodiles set up winning chances on the first three extra holes, but the putts refused to drop. Memories of the 2002 stalemate were fast resurfacing when the players returned to the 18th for the sixth time of the day – the first being when they completed their delayed third rounds in the morning (276 -12). When Rodiles mishit his tee shot and could only chip sideways from the trees, Jacobson took his chance with an immaculate 8-iron to six feet and the contest was over.

Three in a row

In 2004 Valderrama lived up to its reputation of ‘Valde-drama’ as for the third succesive year the Volvo Masters Andalucía provided the sudden-death excitement of a play-off. Ryder Cup teammates Ian Poulter and Sergio García had carded matching rounds of 70 to finish regulation at 277 (-7). García had missed a golden chance to seal the title in regular play when he launched an eight iron approach from 175 yards to five feet at the 72nd hole, but failed to convert. Poulter joined the Spaniard in the play-off as he missed a birdie try of his own on the last.

Back to the 18th, both players hit poor drives, but Poulter ended up in much better shape. García could not get out of the rough while his opponent knocked down a 7-iron to the apron and saved par to claim the title.

Once again, the home crowd was disappointed, and Sergio was left to rue missed birdie opportunities on 17 and 18. Seven years later he would put things right by winning the 2011 Andalucía Valderrama Masters in front of an enthusiastic gallery, and again in 2017. This year he will return to one of his favourite courses as defending champion and tournament host.

Rose prevails in the end

The last play-off at Valderrama was a three-way fight for the 2007 Volvo Masters title between Britons Justin Rose and Simon Dyson and Dane Søren Kjeldsen (283 -1). Rose had started the day four shots ahead of the field and maintained his lead until a double bogey on 11 started a worrying run of four dropped shots in five holes. He looked like losing the Order of Merit as well as the tournament, but managed to hang on with a superb two-putt birdie on 17 that earned him a spot in the play-off.

Reaching the play-off ensured him the Order of Merit, but that would have been no consolation had he blown the tournament. He was determined to win, and did just that by birdieing the second extra hole from 15 feet to clinch the season-ending title.

Tickets for the 2018 Andalucía Valderrama Mastershosted by the Sergio García Foundation are available HERE

Children aged under 14 are admitted to the event free of charge when accompanied by a ticket holding adult.

Image 1992 Volvo Masters Sandy Lyle courtesy of Getty Images

Image 1999 WGC-American Express Championship Tiger Woods courtesy of Getty Images

Image 2002 Volvo Masters Langer y Montgomerie courtesy of Paul Lakatos

Image 2003 Rodiles y Jacobson 2 VMA courtesy of Paul Lakatos

Image 2004 VMA Ian Poulter courtesy of Paul Lakatos

Image 2007 Volvo Masters Justin Rose hole 18 courtesy of Paul Lakatos

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The natural amphitheatre of Real Club Valderrama’s 17th green will return to the limelight from October 18-21 at the Andalucía Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio García Foundation, under the sponsorship of the Council of Tourism and Sport of the Junta de Andalucía.

Valderrama’s iconic par five 17th – originally the 8th, a rather nondescript hole of the former Las Aves layout – was first transformed by Robert Trent Jones and later redesigned by Seve Ballesteros into the feature hole of the final stretch, a spectacular amphitheatre capable of accommodating 7000 spectators. Its challenging green, framed by bougainvillea studded gabion walls, has been the scene of unforgettable moments of glory and drama throughout Valderrama’s rich competitive history. This is a hole that lures the many but rewards the few.

Jiménez and McDowell shine in Valderrama. The first to tame #17 was Miguel Ángel Jiménez during the second round of the 1994 Volvo Masters. “I had 202 yards to the front and 212 to the pin. I hit a 3-iron that started dead on line, pitched at the front of the green and rolled thirty feet into the hole! I was too far away to see it drop, but the cheers of the crowd told the story”. A plaque on the tee immortalizes Miguel’s albatross.

Fourteen years later, Graeme McDowell faced a similar shot. This time G-Mac holed out with a 7-iron to a pin tucked to the right of the green.

A Ryder Cup hole. Seve Ballesteros had redesigned #17 for the 1993 Volvo Masters, and none knew better than the Spanish Captain that it would be the crucial hole of the 1997 Ryder Cup. One of the turning points of the event was Nacho Garrido’s fabulous bunker shot during the Saturday morning fourballs. His partner, José María Olazábal recalls: “The key moment was on 17 when we were really struggling against Phil Mickelson and Tom Lehman. Nacho’s second was bunkered past the green while Phil had hit a superb shot to six feet. Nacho’s bunker shot was amazing; the best bunker specialist couldn’t have done it in a hundred tries. He made his putt and Phil missed, so we halved that hole and eventually halved the match. It was an incredible moment.”

The Sunday singles were close, and it was on the 17th green that Europe got the half to retain the Cup, as Brad Faxon missed a ten-footer to lose to Bernhard Langer.

Tiger struggles. #17 was notoriously cruel to Tiger Woods at the 1999 WGC-American Express Championship when he held a two-stroke lead over Miguel Ángel Jiménez on Sunday. The then world number one was well aware of the challenge of this green – having putted into the hazard during the Ryder Cup – so he decided to lay up. He played his third the way he wanted and was surprised by the murmurs of the gallery as his ball rolled slowly back into the water. He then tried to play safe with his fifth, but left himself a tricky putt from the back fringe. He ended with a triple bogey that allowed Jiménez to get back in it. Woods eventually won on the first playoff hole.

Great memories for Sergio. Sergio García is a big Valderrama fan, but #17 had not been particularly kind to him in the past until last year, when it became his best ally as it yielded three consecutive birdies. The home hero birdied Valderrama’s signature hole on Friday, Saturday and Sunday on his way to victory in front of an enthusiastic gallery – great memories to bring with him to the defence of his Andalucía Valderrama Masters title in October.

Early bird tickets for the 2018 Andalucía Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation are just €8 for the Pro-Am on Wednesday October 17, €12 on Thursday and Friday of the tournament and €20 on Saturday and Sunday. Children aged under 14 are admitted to the event free of charge when accompanied by a ticket holding adult. Tickets are available now HERE

Image courtesy of Andalucía Golf

Image Hole 17 Andalucía Valderrama Masters courtesy of Real Club Valderrama

Image Hole 17 Sergio García courtesy of Real Club Valderrama

Image Hole 17 Volvo Masters courtesy of Doro Plana

Image Hole 17 Volvo Masters courtesy of Paul Lakatos

Major winner Sergio García will return to the Andalucía Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio García Foundation to defend his title, as the tournament is once again held at Real Club Valderrama.

The 2017 Masters Tournament Champion rounded off a special year at his favourite course as he lifted the trophy in his first tournament on home soil following his triumph at Augusta National, and the victory was event sweeter as it came in an event supported by his own charitable foundation.

This year’s tournament on October 18-21 will once again be sponsored by the Autonomous Government of Andalusia with the support of the Sergio García Foundation. The Spaniard set up his charitable foundation in 2002 for the purpose of contributing to the social inclusion of economically-deprived children through social assistance benefits and the practice of sport as free-time activity.

García delighted Spanish fans with an emotional victory in Sotogrande last year, as he sealed his third win of the season to add to his maiden Major title at Augusta National as well as the Omega Dubai Desert Classic trophy.

The home hero continued his love affair with the venue - where he became the first Spaniard to win a European Tour stroke play event in 2011 - as he lifted the trophy at the end of a week in which he was awarded Honorary Life Membership of both the European Tour and Real Club Valderrama.

The Sergio García Foundation donated all the funds raised at the 2017 Andalucía Valderrama Masters to Madrid’s Hospital Universitario La Paz to help support a makeover of the children's x-ray unit. The money will be spent redesigning the unit into a welcoming, bright and relaxing environment for the children who receive treatment there.

García said: “It was an amazing experience to be able to win in Spain, and in my first tournament back in Spain as the Masters Champion. To win at my favourite golf course, Valderrama, and at our own event that we do with our Foundation, it was the perfect mix. I’m really excited to go back there this year.

“The tournament is really important and it brings a lot to our Foundation so that we can help out as many people as we can. Last year we helped with building a new x-ray room in a hospital in Madrid. It’s really important to us to and we’re excited to hopefully raise as much as possible and help out again.”

It is 21 years since Garcia’s countryman and hero Seve Ballesteros captained Europe to a 14 ½ - 13 ½ win over the USA at Real Club Valderrama, and as the biennial tournament returns to Continental Europe for the first time since that memorable victory in 1997, the eight-time Ryder Cup star is excited about the prospect of bringing more glory to his favourite golf course.

He said: “There are a lot of great tournaments coming up ahead of our tournament in Valderrama, so I’m very excited to hopefully play well going in to it.

“There are a lot of Majors to come and obviously The Ryder Cup. It would be nice to get our hands on it again and bring it back to Valderrama where Seve was the Ryder Cup captain.”

Early bird tickets for the 2018 Andalucía Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation are just €8 for the Pro-Am on Wednesday October 17, €12 on Thursday and Friday of the tournament and €20 on Saturday and Sunday. Children aged under 14 are admitted to the event free of charge when accompanied by a ticket holding adult. Tickets are available now HERE