Seve TrophyA sensational, yet sad, accusation of cheating marred the final day of the Seve Trophy at El Saler near Valencia yesterday.

Britain and Ireland beat the Continent by 15-13, a result that was overshadowed by the fact that two of Europe's finest and most respected golfers were involved in an incident on the third green that, as it transpired, had no winners and left only the name of the game besmirched.

Padraig Harrington was playing his Ryder Cup colleague Jose Maria Olazabal when the two reached the third green all square. The Irishman was 10 feet away, the Spaniard eight feet, and as Harrington walked to his ball he noticed two small marks on Olazabal's line.

He did not think they were pitch marks, which can be repaired legally, and after the match was over claimed he was not sure whether they were pitch or spike marks, the latter being unrepairable. But at the time, after Olazabal had repaired whatever the marks were, Harrington stood with arms outstretched in appeal to the referee, Tony Gray.

But Gray, as he should have been, was standing far enough away to be out of sight of the players, and had no idea what kind of marks they were. Olazabal, however, incensed at being effectively accused of cheating, snatched up his ball and marched off the green, conceding the hole.

Thereafter the match was played in an icy silence while the Spanish crowd, already loud in their favouritism, became raucously so. Olazabal's manager, Sergio Gomez, did not see the incident clearly but could see that his charge was furious.

"That," said Gomez, "is the only time in his career he has been accused of cheating."

To imagine Olazabal, a man who guards the game's best traditions ferociously, deliberately doing so is impossible, and afterwards Harrington was at pains to explain that it was possible he was wrong.

"I fully believe," said the Irishman, "that he thought they were pitch marks. I wasn't clear, I was 50-50, so it is possible he was 100 per cent right.

"It was a disagreement of opinion. I can totally see his side of it and this is not worth losing a friend over, not for a half-point, not for a point, not for anything."

Asked if it had affected the atmosphere in the match, he said: "Very much so, big time. I won't be celebrating tonight."

Neither, of course, will a proud Spaniard, who quite possibly over-reacted at the time. But an allegation of cheating, even if only perceived, is difficult to take in a game that depends totally on honesty and rigorous self-application of the rules. Players have walked off the course rather than continue under the weight of such allegations, but such a course of action did not occur to Olazabal.

"No," he said, "this was a team match. But at that hole I took the decision that I thought was right."

Later Colin Montgomerie, the B&I captain, echoed the thoughts of all concerned when he said: "I just hope they will be grown up enough to sort it out between them."

The match itself was compelling, with Olazabal round in approximately 67 and Harrington in 68. The Spaniard birdied the 16th to go one up and again at the short 17th, but only to stay one up.

Then Harrington hit a huge drive down the 18th and a second shot that spun to a halt only three feet away. When he holed the putt for a half it was possibly the best result given all the circumstances.

On paper the 15-13 result for B&I was the worst possible for the Continent, in that they lost. But there were two large comforting factors, the most important of which was that Thomas Bjorn developed a stiff neck between getting out of bed and going on the course.

He is subject to this problem, knows how it progresses and, when there was no improvement after a visit to a physiotherapist, knew he could not play. Under the rules, that meant he had to concede his match to Paul Casey, which, had he won it, would have meant a tie at 14-14.

Furthermore, the Continent are handicapped by the fact that their captain is Seve Ballesteros who, while still a charismatic presence, can no longer play. But he insists on doing so and in team matches lost twice with Olazabal and once with Sergio Garcia.

Then, in yesterday's singles he played the last seven holes of his match with Montgomerie in six over par to go from two up to a 5 and 4 defeat. It is a dreadful thing to say of a man who was the golfer all men would want to be, but he is a liability to his team, a built-in loss, and should relegate himself to a non-playing role.

Guardian Service

SUNDAY

(Continental names first,

Britain and Ireland led 10-8 overnight)

Singles

Seve Ballesteros lost to Colin Montgomerie

... 5 and 4

Alex Cejka lost to David Howell 1 hole

Ignacio Garrido bt Paul Lawrie 3 and 2

Fredrik Jacobson bt Lee Westwood 2 and 1

Jose Maria Olazabal halved with Padraig Harrington

Niclas Fasth halved with Ian Poulter

Thomas Bjorn (withdrew, inj) lost to Paul Casey

Raphael Jacquelin lost to Justin Rose 3 and 2

Miguel Angel Jimenez bt Brian Davis 2 and 1

Sergio Garcia bt Phillip Price 4 and 3

Singles result: Continental Europe 5 Britain and Ireland 5.

SATURDAY

Foursomes

Miguel Angel Jimenez and Ignacio Garrido lost to Harrington and Montgomerie 2 and 1

Fredrik Jacobson and Niclas Fasth bt Peter Lawrie and Paul Casey 3 and 2

Alex Cejka and Raphael Jacquelin bt David Howell and Lee Westwood 5 and 3

Sergio Garcia and Thomas Bjorn lost to Justin Rose and Ian Poulter 2 and 1

Foursomes result: Continental Europe 2 Britain and Ireland 2.

Greensomes

Niclas Fasth and Fredrik Jacobson bt Padraig Harrington and Paul Lawrie 5 and 4.

Thomas Bjorn and Jose Maria Olazabal halved with Justin Rose and Colin Montgomerie.

Cejka and Raphael Jacquelin bt Paul Casey and Brian Davis 3 and 2.

Sergio Garcia and Seve Ballesteros lost to Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter 3 and 1.

Greensomes result: Continental Europe 2½ Britain and Ireland 1½.

Match result

Continental Europe 13 Britain and Ireland 15.