European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke and Jeev Milkha Singh of India will lead rival teams at the 2016 EurAsia Cup in Malaysia, organisers announced Monday.
Following a spectacular 10-10 draw at the inaugural edition in 2014, the biennial Ryder Cup-styled showdown between Europe and Asia will take place at the Glenmarie Golf and Country Cup, located west of the capital Kuala Lumpur, from January 15 to 17, 2016.
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With Singh, a former two-time Asian Tour number one, and Northern Ireland’s major champion Clarke helming the teams, the EurAsia Cup will have two of golf’s most respected men leading Asia and Europe.
“We want to go to Malaysia and win the EurAsia Cup. I’ve already had a lot of players talking to me about it and no matter who is in the European side, we will be hungry to win,” said 47-year-old Clarke.
“It’s going to be very tough – we saw what happened the last time,” he added, referring to the draw in the first edition.
It is a great honour to be named captain of Team Asia at the @EurAsiaCupGolf – I am so looking forward to the challenge. #GoAsia
— Jeev Milkha Singh (@JeevMilkhaSingh) September 28, 2015
Thongchai has set the bar high with the team’s remarkable performance in 2014. We’d love to get half point more this time! @EurAsiaCupGolf
— Jeev Milkha Singh (@JeevMilkhaSingh) September 28, 2015
Looking forward to locking horns with my good friend @DarrenClarke60 – we will play hard and laugh a lot over Guinness in the evening.
— Jeev Milkha Singh (@JeevMilkhaSingh) September 28, 2015
I am very positive about our chances. We have some exceptional talent and @EurAsiaCupGolf will be a great platform to showcase them.
— Jeev Milkha Singh (@JeevMilkhaSingh) September 28, 2015
Meanwhile the 44-year-old Singh, who won the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2006 and 2008, said it was an honour to be offered the EurAsia Cup captaincy.
“I am very excited by the prospect of leading what I hope will be a very strong Asian team. I hope I can get a great team out there and keep them calm and collected and get the best out of them,” he said.
The winning 12-player team will share prize money of $3.6 million (Dhs13.2m) while the runners-up will share $1.2m (Dhs4.4m). Malaysia will also host the EurAsia Cup in 2018.
