February 7, 2014: Japanese stars Koumei Oda and Hideto Tanihara, along with Kim Hyung-sung of Korea join Thai Kiradech Aphinbarnrat, Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh and Indian Duo Anirban Lahiri and Gaganjeet Bhullar to represent Team Asia in next month’s inaugural EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM at the Glenmarie Golf and Country Club in Malaysia.
Team Asia’s playing Captain Thongchai Jaidee also announced at a press conference held at the Glenmarie Gardens that Malaysia’s Nicholas Fung will be one of his captain’s picks.
A second captain’s pick will be named later to complete the 10-man Team Asia line-up which will face Team Europe, led by playing captain Miguel Angel Jimenez, in the Ryder Cup-styled showdown from March 27-29.
New Asian Tour number one Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand, Bangladeshi Siddikur Rahman and Indian duo Anirban Lahiri and Gaganjeet Bhullar qualified for Team Asia after finishing as the top four Asian players on the final 2013 Asian Tour Order of Merit.
European team captain Jiminez has already named Major champion and Ryder Cup hero Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland, Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Frenchman Victor Dubuisson and Jamie Donaldson of Wales from the 2013 Race to Dubai rankings while Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn, Dutchman Joost Luiten, Scotsman Stephen Gallacher and Jimenez qualified through the world ranking. Jimenez will announce his two captain’s picks in due course.
Thongchai, who is a three-time Asian Tour number one, said, “I am happy to announce Nicholas as one of my captain’s picks. As Malaysia’s leading player over the past couple of years, I felt that we needed to have the top local player in Team Asia to carry our challenge. Nicholas has become a strong golfer and I was pleased to see him winning the Asian Development Tour Order of Merit title in 2013 and also earn his full Asian Tour card by finishing 36th on the Order of Merit through two very strong performances in the Indonesia Open and Resorts World Manila Masters at the end of last season.”
The format of play for the EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM will see five fourball matches being played on the first day (March 27, Thursday) followed by five foursomes matches on day two (March 28, Friday) and 10 singles matches on the final day (March 29, Saturday) at Glenmarie’s Garden course.
Sanctioned by The European Tour and Asian Tour, The EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM will be held biennially and will put ten of the finest golfers from Europe against a ten-man team from Asia over three days.
The EurAsia Cup, which debuts next month in Malaysia, will be a Ryder Cup-style Europe v Asia team event. It is similar to the longer-established Royal Trophy. The seventh edition of this tournament was held at China’s Dragon Lake Golf Club in December.
