 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Jeev Milkha Singh will be the lone Indian golfer in the Asian that will take on Europe in the sixth Royal Trophy clash this week.
The ace Indian is one of the three Asians to have played the Royal Trophy on earlier occasions and this time he is also on the Championships Committee.
The European Team is captained by Ryder Cup Captain Jose Maria Olazabal, the 46-year-old two-time Masters champion and winner of 30 career professional titles, while the Asian Team is captained by Naomichi "Joe" Ozaki, 56, winner of 35 professional career titles and two-time Japan Golf Tour Order of Merit champion.
Ozaki is captain of the Asian Team for the fifth time, while it is only the second time that Olazabal has taken on the captaincy of the European Team.
The two clashed in 2009 during the third edition of The Royal Trophy, which resulted in Asia's only win in the event.
The match play competition is a brainchild of the late, five-time Major champion Severiano "Seve" Ballesteros, who envisioned The Royal Trophy to push golf in Asia, just as the Ryder Cup did in Europe in the 1980s and 1990s.
This year's edition is the first since Ballesteros died last year from cancer.
The European team: Jose Maria Olazabal (Captain); Nicolas Colsaerts; Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño; Miguel Angel Jimenez; Edoardo Molinari; Francesco Molinari; Marcel Siem; Henrik Stenson.
The Asian Team: Jumbo Ozaki (Captain); Liang Wen-chong; Kiradech Aphibarnrat; Bae Sang-moon; Yoshinori Fujimoto; K.T. Kim; Jeev Milkha Singh; Wu Ashun; Y.E. Yang.