All set for the clash of continents

March 26, 2014: Greatest golfing event of the region, the battle of two continents-Asia and Europe, Eurasia cup is all set to tee off at the Glenmarie Golf and Country Club on Thursday.

Team Asia will be led by playing captain Thongchai Jaidee, Asian Tour number one Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Prayad Marksaeng, Koumei Oda, Hideto Tanihara, Kim Hyung-sung, Siddikur Rahman, Nicholas Fung and Indian duo Gaganjeet Bhullar, Anirban Lahiri.

While European team, skippered by Miguel-Angel Jimenez has Thomas Bjorn, Jamie Donaldson, Victor Dubuisson, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Stephen Gallacher, Pablo Larrazabal, Joost Luiten, Graeme McDowell and Thorbjorn Olesen in the team.

Indians in the field, Bhullar and Lahiri are prepared to take on European team under the stewardship of team captain Thongchai Jaidee. Having won eight Asian Tour titles together in their burgeoning careers, they are aware that they have to put up their best in next three days.

“This is a different kind of format. I think it is a great sense of achievement for the 10 guys who qualified for Team Asia. We are here to represent the continent. We have been trying to gel together and we have a lot of combinations in the fourball and foursomes format. Now we are just waiting for Thursday to come,” said Bhullar, a five-time Asian Tour winner.

“We’ve played a lot of team golf together, but like Thongchai rightly pointed out, in juniors and amateurs events, you don’t really play foursomes and four balls so this is a new format for me,” said Lahiri. The team has been working hard together and when the matches begin, we will all be hoping to create an upset,” Indian added.

The Ryder Cup-style tournament, inaugural EurAsia Cup will open a career-enhancing prospect for all the participants.

The EurAsia Cup is based on a format where the teams will go head-to-head in the four ball format on day one, foursomes on day two before culminating with the singles on the final day.