January 16, 2016: As Nicholas Fung stood under the flag on the 18th, he had less than 10 feet for a putt to halve their match. But Fung and Danny Chia surrendered the 17th hole after missing a short putt and the stress of keeping Asian hopes alive was palpable on his genial visage. Fung did make the putt on 18, leaving the Asian team relieved, but the hosts are facing a Himalayan challenge in the EURASIA Cup. Europe dominated for a second day running to gain a massive six point advantage at the end of the foursomes on Saturday. Darren Clarke’s men are leading 9-3 with Jeev Milkha Singh and his team needing to win nine of the twelve singles matches on Sunday to just stay even with the Europeans.
The day began on a positive note for the Asian team, with five of six pairings establishing a lead during the early stages of the foursome competition. The pain of trailing by three was replaced by a sense of joy in the camp, even as Jeev motored away on his buggy to extend words of encouragement to his team.
But the joy was shortlived. Captain Singh had hoped that the lead pair of Byeong Hun An and Thongchai Jaidee would replicate their form on Friday and provide much needed momentum to the Asian team. As things turned out, experienced Ian Poulter and Danny Willett stamped their authority early, going four up through just six holes.
The Asian duo of Byeong and Thongchai made three birdies from there but still suffered a 3&2 drubbing to set the tone for another strong European performance.
Bernd Wiesberger and Ross Fisher were locked in a tight contest with KT Kim and Jeunghun Wang.
Their battle swung back and forth with each team managing to respond to the other birdie for birdie. In the end though, an eagle at the 11th and a birdie at the final hole gave the Europeans another point.
Chris Wood was on song in the fourball on Friday, but playing with Kristoffer Broberg in the foursomes, he struggled to recreate the magic of the first day. SSP Chawrasia and Kiradech Aphibarnrat played well together, making five birdies in their two hole win over the European duo.
“We complement each other very well,” said Chawrasia, explaining the reasons for his good chemistry with Kiradech. “We spent some time together at the Thailand Golf Championship and decided to ask the captain to pair us in the EURASIA Cup. We are good friends and our games matchup very well.”
Another pair that seems near perfect is the combination of Andy Sullivan and Shane Lowry. They combined well yet again to outplay Prayad Marksaeng and Shingo Katayama 3&2, matching the result achieved by Poulter and Willett.
Lee Westwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick proved just too good for Anirban Lahiri and Ashun Wu. The Europeans were down one after the first hole, but delivered double blows from thereon to swamp the Asians 5&4.
It felt fitting for Chia and Fung to make a clutch putt and halve the last point of the day after some late drama during their match against Soren Kjeldsen and Victor Dubuisson. Amidst fading hopes, the spirited efforts of the Malaysian duo over the past two days ensured that the Asian team remained hopeful of a miraculous recovery on Sunday.
At 9-3 Europe is clearly out and ahead in this contest. But with twelve points on offer this Sunday in the singles, the Asian team will pray for some monumental golf from its players to try and prevent a brutally one sided victory for Europe.
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