Team Asia completed a superb singles fightback to draw with Europe in the inaugural EurAsia Cup contested at Glenmarie G&CC in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Team Asia completed a superb singles fightback to draw with Europe in the inaugural EurAsia Cup contested at Glenmarie G&CC in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Thongchai Jaidee's men were 5-0 down after the opening day fourballs, but they won the last two sessions to close the gap. They reduced the deficit to 7-3 after the Friday foursomes and that meant they needed to win 7 of the 10 points available in the Saturday singles to avoid defeat.
Captain Jaidee led from the front, putting the first point on the board for Team Asia with a great 3&2 win over 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell. There were five further Asian winners and the whole match went right to the wire, with the entire result hanging on the outcome of the game between Hideto Tanihara and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.
The Spaniard made a fabulous eagle on the par-5 16th to square the match and Tanihara made a superb par on the 17th to keep it that way. On the final green, Castano bravely holed from three feet then conceded a putt to Tanihara that meant their match and the entire EurAsia Cup was tied.
"It's an amazing day of golf," said team Europe captain Miguel Angel Jimenez. "At the end of the week, the European Team did not win the tournament, but the Asian Team, they played very well. I have to say that all the players, they are playing very well and they are giving me everything they have and I have all the respect for the players I have the pleasure to be here with this week. As I said in the prize giving presentation, Asia, Europe, they both win, nobody loses."
It has been confirmed that the next two editions of the EurAsia Cup will be held in Malaysia in 2016 and 2018.
EurAsia Cup Glenmarie G&CC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Mar 27-29
Final Score: Asia 10 Europe 10
Saturday Singles Results:
Nicholas Fung lost to Miguel Angel Jimenez by 1 hole Thongchai Jaidee beat Graeme McDowell by 3&2 Kiradech Aphibarnrat beat Thomas Bjorn by 2&1 Prayad Marksaeng tied with Jamie Donaldson Hyung-sung Kim beat Pablo Larrazabal by 4&2 Anirban Lahiri beat Victor Dubuisson by 2&1 Gaganjeet Bhullar beat Thorbjorn Olesen by 4&3 Koumei Oda lost to Joost Luiten by 1 hole Hideto Tanihara tied with Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano Siddikur Rahman bt Stephen Gallacher by 4&3
