Golf

Paul Dunne selected in Europe team for EurAsia Cup

Paul Casey and Alexander Levy are the two wild cards selected by captain Thomas Bjorn

Paul Dunne of Ireland pictured during round one of the UBS Hong Kong Open. Photograph: Arep Kulal/Getty Images

Thu Nov 23 2017 - 07:51

Paul Casey will represent Europe for the first time in over nine years in January after being selected as a wild card for the EurAsia Cup.

Frenchman Alexander Levy is the other wild card selected by Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn to play alongside ten automatic qualifiers made up of Ireland's Paul Dunne, English quartet Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Ross Fisher and Matthew Fitzpatrick, Spanaird Rafa Cabrera Bello, Austrian Bernd Wiesberger, Belgian Thomas Pieters and Swedish duo Alex Noren and Henrik Stenson.

Greystones native Dunne’s selection is further evidence of his onward and upward rise in the professional game. He turns 25 this coming Sunday and his development in just two years on tour has been mightily impressive. Dunne finished 16th in the final R2D standings, but was the 14th European in the final order of merit and so has benefited from others’ non-availability.

Casey was on the winning Ryder Cup teams in 2004 and 2006 but last played for the continent in the 2008 loss to the United States at Valhalla.

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He was controversially overlooked by captain Colin Montgomerie in 2010 despite being ranked inside the world’s top 10 but after rejoining the European Tour for the 2018 season, the world number 14 will now be in the frame for a place in the team at Le Golf National in the autumn.

Bjorn will also lead Europe against Asia at the EurAsia Cup in Malaysia and he is delighted to have Casey back in the fold.

“Once Paul announced he was rejoining the European Tour, and therefore making himself available for selection, that decision was a no-brainer for me,” he said. “He is a wonderful player with a lot of experience and I think the young guys can learn a lot from him.

“He’s also got a fantastic match play record and not just in Ryder Cups. He is comfortable with where he is in his life right now and him wanting to part of the EurAsia Cup team also shows his commitment to the European Tour and the road he is now on.”

Europe won the 2016 EurAsia Cup 18.5-5.5 and the contest is the last chance they will get to play in a team match play format before they attempt to regain the Ryder Cup against the Americans in Paris.

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