Darren Clarke will have the opportunity to test his mettle as Europe captain ahead of next September’s Ryder Cup, and he will do so against long-time friend Jeev Milkha Singh, after they were announced as captains for January’s EurAsia Cup.
Clarke and Jeev will respectively captain Europe and Asia at the EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM at Glenmarie Golf and Country Club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from January 15-17, 2016.
The inaugural EurAsia Cup was dramatically tied when Asia, then playing under Thongchai Jaidee, bounced back in the final-day singles and leveled the scores at 10-10.
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Clarke and Jeev have been friends for as long as they can remember, and they are clearly relishing the opportunity to lead their continents to what would be an historic first EurAsia Cup victory.
As they got together to help announce the January date for the second staging, where Clarke and Singh will be non-playing captains of 12-man teams, the pair quickly set the tone for what will be an intriguing rivalry.
“We have known each other a very, very long time,” said Clarke. “We have played together on Tour for most of our careers.
“Both teams that are assembled will be desperate to win – when we get to Kuala Lumpur Jeev will be trying to kick my butt and I will be trying to kick his. It’s going to be a great week – the guys are really looking forward to it already.”
Jeev added: “It’s an honour to be offered the EurAsia Cup captaincy and I am very excited by the prospect of leading what I hope will be a very strong Asian team.
“It is a special event – I remember watching it two years ago and it was so exciting. I think it’s going to be great for Asia and Europe. I’m looking forward to going up against Darren – I’m going to have a lot of fun with him!”
The EurAsia Cup will see six fourball matches and six foursomes matches played over the opening two days before 12 final-day singles.
Clarke will lead Europe to Hazeltine next year to defend the Ryder Cup, and the 47-year-old Northern Irishman believes his EurAsia Cup captaincy can provide invaluable experience towards that.
“The EurAsia Cup is going to give me a great opportunity to see a lot of potential Ryder Cup players in a match play and team situation. I think any prospective Ryder Cup Captain would relish the opportunity to put some pairings together and see how guys play together and bond,” he said.
“But first and foremost we want to go there and win the EurAsia Cup. We will be hungry to win.”
