2006 Royal Trophy - Event Preview

Asia's captain Masahiro "Massy" Kuramoto believes his multi-talented team will prevail over Europe in the inaugural Royal Trophy which begins on Saturday.

The Japanese legend said his squad which comprises of players from five different nations is united its goal to become the first winners of The Royal Trophy at the spectacular Amata Spring Country Club.

"Our players come from Japan, India, China, Korea and Thailand and although there is a language barrier, we feel that our mind is as one and we have the same goal which is to win this tournament. We are confident we can beat the European Team," said Kuramoto, a winner of 30 tournaments in Japan.

Kuramoto can certainly count on his men to deliver the goods in the Ryder Cup-style shootout. His eight team members have a combined 52 career victories on the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour and each of them are coming off spectacular seasons.

Thaworn Wiratchant, Thongchai Jaidee and Jyoti Randhawa, the top three players on the Asian Tour last season, Yasuharu Imano, Keiichiro Fukabori and SK Ho, who finished inside the top-five on the Japan Tour money list in 2005 and captain's picks Arjun Atwal and Zhang Lian-wei make up a solid Asian line-up.

Europe will be led by Spanish maestro Seve Ballesteros as non-playing skipper and he will be counting on the likes of Ryder Cup stars David Howell, Thomas Bjorn and Paul McGinley to help him complete a unique hat-trick of victories.

"I always enjoy matchplay and the Ryder Cup especially, and this idea of Asia vs Europe is fantastic for both sides. We are taking this competition very seriously and I am happy and proud of this great team," said Ballesteros.

"It's the best possible team that we can have for Europe and I'm looking forward to facing the Asian Team. I want to win. I don't want to break my record as I have won the Ryder Cup as a captain and I won the Seve Trophy (Continental Europe vs Great Britain and Ireland) as captain. I want to win the Royal Trophy," added the five-time major champion.

China's Zhang, for one, will be looking to repay Kuramoto's faith in him by producing a winning performance at Amata Spring, which boasts of a floating green at the par three eighth hole – the only such island green in Asia.

"I'm really happy to be here. It's the first time Asia will face Europe and as a captain's pick, I want to repay the faith that Kuramoto has placed on me," said Zhang, who is one of the pioneers of the professional game in China.

The self-taught Zhang, a five-time winner in Asia, is a master of matchplay competitions where he has notched famous wins over the likes of Nick Price and Colin Montgomerie and he can't wait for Saturday's matches to begin.

"I love matchplay as I like to charge and play attacking golf. In strokeplay, you need to protect your game but matchplay creates a lot more excitement. I can partner anybody in our team as I obviously know the Asian Tour players very well and also the Japan players well. I know their games and their hearts are set in winning," said the Chinese star.

England's Howell, who notched a famous victory over Tiger Woods in the HSBC Champions tournament in November, is in an upbeat mood as he prepares to take his place alongside Europe's legends Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam and rising stars Henrik Stenson, Kenneth Ferrie and Graeme McDowell.

"It’s going to be a big event and no better way to start the year than to get right in there in the thick of it and try and win this tournament," said Howell, who is ranked 11th in the world.

"I’ve enjoyed success in The Ryder Cup and the Seve Trophy and any time your team wins something, the better. And any time you play a team competition whether it is for Europe or for Britain you really want to win and if we don’t take that trophy home with us we’ll be very disappointed.

"The Asians have a strong team, I know half the guys on their side although don’t know much about the Japanese players but I'm sure they are all very good players. They have home advantage and Asian players on home soil are always very hard to beat."

Asia and Europe will compete in a series of 16 matches involving foursomes, four-ball and singles. The Royal Trophy offers a total prize fund of US$1.5 million, with the winning team sharing $1 million and the runners-up sharing $500,000.

The first day of competition on Saturday will see four Foursomes in the morning session, followed by another four fourball matches in the afternoon. The second and final day will see eight matches of singles being played.

The Royal Trophy is sanctioned by the Asian Tour, Japan Golf Tour Organisation and European Tour.

Asian Team: Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha), Thongchai Jaidee (Tha), Jyoti Randhawa (Ind), Yasuharo Imano (Jpn), Keiichiro Fukabori (Jpn), SK Ho (Kor), Arjun Atwal (Ind – captain's pick), Zhang Lian-wei (Chn – captain's pick)
Captain: Massy Kuramoto (JPN)

European Team: David Howell (Eng), Paul McGinley (Ire), Henrik Stenson (Swe), Thomas Bjorn (Den), Kenneth Ferrie (Eng), Graeme McDowell (NIR), Nick Faldo (Eng – captain’s pick), Ian Woosnam (Wal – captain’s pick)
Captain: Seve Ballesteros (ESP)

January 5, 2006

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