Organisers want the Vivendi Trophy to be renamed the Vivendi Seve Trophy in memory of Seve Ballesteros.
Name switch requested for Seve's Ryder Cup-style event
Organisers want the Vivendi Trophy to be renamed the Vivendi Seve Trophy in memory of Seve Ballesteros, who died last week.
The biennial Ryder Cup-style event between Continental Europe and GB & Ireland was introduced in 2000 to mark the contribution Ballesteros made to European golf.
The suggestion by organisers to the European Tour is simply to change the title of September's event from the "Vivendi Trophy with Seve Ballesteros" to the "Vivendi Seve Trophy".
It was purely as the Seve Trophy that the first five matches in the series were played and there are bound to be those who wish it to return to that.
A statement said: "Vivendi today announced that Jean Rene Fourtou, chairman of the Vivendi Supervisory Board, has suggested to the PGA European Tour that the 'Vivendi Trophy with Seve Ballesteros' be renamed to 'The Vivendi Seve Trophy', in memory of Severiano Ballesteros, who really knew, amongst other things, how to develop and support the spirit of match play and golf as an all-round game.
"During the day's press conference Scott Kelly, Marketing Director of the PGA European Tour, emotionally welcomed the change on behalf of the PGA European Tour."
Captain
Spaniard Jose-Maria Olazabal takes over from Scot Colin Montgomerie as 2012 Ryder Cup captain and in this capacity will oversee the Vivendi Trophy and appoint the captains of both teams.
GB & Ireland will defend the trophy following their 16.5-11.5 victory over Continental Europe in 2009.
