2007 Royal Trophy - Day 2: Europe continue to dominate

Europe's overwhelming dominance over their Asian counterparts continued on the second day of the Royal Trophy as Seve Ballesteros' team moved even further ahead following the fourballs at the Amata Spring Country Club.

Ballesteros' team lead 6.5-1.5 going into Sunday's singles and, just as they did on Friday, the Europeans failed to lose any of Saturday's four match-ups.

The European team fell just short of repeating their points tally from the first day, when they earned 3.5 to Asia's 0.5, and they now need just a win and a draw from the eight singles matches on Sunday to retain the trophy they won last year.

Despite the gulf between the teams, however, the Asians put in a more credible performance on the second day, managing to halve two matches, with Thai pair Thongchai Jaidee and Prom Meesawat sharing the spoils with Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood.

Clarke and Westwood looked to be cruising, leading by two holes at the turn after the Asians had won the first thanks to Meesawat's birdie.

A birdie by Westwood at the fourth was followed swiftly by a Clarke birdie at the next and the Europeans were still two-up as they set off down the 11th fairway.

But Meesawat was the star for the Asians as the hefty 22-year-old - known as the 'Big Dolphin' - hauled himself and Jaidee back into contention.

His birdie at the 11th - his fourth of the round by that stage - halved the deficit while he sunk a 12-footer at the 15th to level the match, completing a fantastic turnaround after a nervy showing in Friday's foursomes.

Swedish duo Johan Edfors and Henrik Stenson, meanwhile, picked up where they left off after their comfortable opening-day win by going three-up after five holes against YE Yang and Toru Taniguchi.

Both golfers birdied the first to claim that hole before Stenson's two at the fifth doubled the Europeans' lead while another birdie at the sixth for Stenson left the Asians three down.

Taniguchi's birdie at the seventh pulled one back for the Asians only for Edfors, a three-time winner on the European Tour last year, to win the eighth with a par.

A birdie from Yang at the 16th kept the match alive but a half at the 17th saw the Swedes win 2&1.

Asia's best hope early in the day rested on the form of the Tetsuji Hiratsuka and Thaworn Wiratchant partnership. They raced into a two-hole lead with birdies at the first two holes in their encounter with Anthony Wall and Paul McGinley.

Japanese star Hiratsuka claimed both of those before Wiratchant weighed in with a perfectly-weighted 20-foot putt at the par-three eighth to claim a two and move the Asian team three clear.

But birdies for Wall at the 10th and 11th slashed the gap to just one and McGinley levelled the game on the 12th when he holed out from eight feet after Wiratchant's effort had lipped out.

The Irishman then put his team on top for the first time on the 15th when his approach finished within several feet of the hole and the subsequent birdie put the Europeans one-up, a lead they held onto for the remaining three holes.

In the day's final match, Jeev Milkha Singh and SK Ho looked to be on track to pick up a win for the Asians when they went one-up against Niclas Fasth and Robert Karlsson on the 13th thanks to Ho's birdie, the first time either side had led the tight encounter since the fifth.

But Karlsson put his tee-shot at the 17th to within three inches of the cup to take the match down the final hole and the teams shared the spoils, despite Singh finding the water from the tee box.

The Royal Trophy, The Amata Spring Country Club, Thailand:

Fourballs result (European names first):

Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood v Thongchai Chaidee and Prom Meesawat - Match halved

Johan Edfors and Henrik Stenson bt YE Yang and Toru Taniguchi - 2&1

Anthony Wall and Paul McGinley bt Tetsuji Hiratsuka and Thaworn Wiratchant - 1 up

Niclas Fasth and Robert Karlsson v Jeev Milka Singh and SK Ho - Match halved

Overall match score: Europe 6.5 - Asia 1.5

January 13, 2007