Faldo ready for experiment

Faldo will captain a Britain and Ireland team at the fifth staging of the Seve Trophy in Ireland next September against a Continential European selection which will be led by Seve Ballesteros.

The Englishman, who with 11 caps has played in more Ryder Cups than any other player, says that he is relishing the prospect of taking up the role of captain at both the Seve Trophy and the Ryder Cup, despite not having led a sports team since he was captain of his school's basketball team as a teenager.

"I couldn't ask for a better way to cut my teeth on team captaincy than to match up against Seve Bellesteros," he said.

"I don't think it's any coincidence that Europe has remained undefeated in Ryder Cup matches since the Seve Trophy began in 2000.

"I'm sure it will be a very valuable experience."

Faldo admits that he doesn't know what sort of style of captaincy he will bring to the Ryder Cup team, but he sees the Seve Trophy as a chance to try some new things out.

"It will give me an opportunity to captain and to get to know the players on both sides," he said.

"Obviously Seve will be captain of the European team, but I will have all the potential Ryder Cup players there and maybe a few magical pairings will come out of it.

"I really think it is a great opportunity for me to communicate with the guys and get to know them all a little bit behind closed doors.

"It will also give me the chance to be experimental and to try out some parings that you might not have thought of otherwise and see how it works out."

Faldo has been an interested spectator to the goings on in the US Ryder Cup camp since last September's match at the K-Club, with Paul Azinger having been appointed as Tom Lehman's successor earlier this month.

One of Azinger's first moves as captain was to overhaul the US selection system which has seen them suffer three consecutive defeats, the last two by heavy margins, and the new US captain will now have an unprecedented four captains picks for the 2008 event.

"I'm pleased for Paul Azinger that he has been given the job, because he has got great Ryder Cup passion and I think that will be very important for the next event," said Faldo.

"Obviously they felt that they had to do something different with their points system to make it more current, but the bottom line is we will just let them do their own thing and see how it all unfolds."

Faldo confirmed that no decision on Europe's selection process will be made until after the next players meeting, which is not scheduled until next year.

Meanwhile, while Faldo's captaincy career may just be beginning, the playing days of the six-time major winner appear to be winding down.

The 49-year-old recently signed a lucrative contract to be a golf analyst for CBS in America, and he admits that television work, along with business interests, means that his appearances as a player on the tour are now going to be severely limited.

"My next event won't be until the British Open next year, and then I'll compete in the British Seniors straight after that," he confirmed.

"After that I'll make decisions on whether there are any other competitions that I can fit in, but really, with the TV work and all my other business interests, I don't really have the time for it anymore."