EurAsia Cup Preview

Miguel Angel Jimenez and Thongchai Jaidee (Getty Images)

published 25 March 2014

Lowdown: Europe faces Asia this week in the inaugural EurAsia Cup at Glenmarie G&CC in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. Miguel Angel Jiménez and Thongchai Jaidee will captain the sides.

The event kicks off this Thursday with five fourball matches, there will then be five foursomes contests on Friday and 10 singles on Saturday. Jiménez and Jaidee will be playing captains, and the Spaniard is looking forward to the competition.

"It's going to be a week of exciting competition with two great teams going head to head," said Jiménez. "My team is in good shape and I know Thongchai is happy with his too."

Miguel Angel Jiménez - Playing captain and 20-time European Tour champion. The 50-year-old Spaniard has competed in four Ryder Cups.

Victor Dubuisson - Something of a sensation in world golf over the last year, Dubuisson won last year's Turkish Airlines Open then finished third in the DP World Tour Championship. Earlier this season he was runner-up in the WGC - Accenture Match Play Championship.

Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano - The stylish Spaniard is a seven-time European Tour winner, most recently the BMW Masters of 2013. He's played three times in the Seve Trophy, including last season when the continental European side was victorious.

Thomas Bjorn - The experienced Dane has won 15 times on the European Tour and has six more pro wins to his name. He's the Chairman of the European Tour's Tournament Committee and he's twice played in the Ryder Cup. He's also been Ryder Cup vice captain on three occasions.

Joost Luiten - The Dutchman is one of the European Tour's most talented players and has picked up three victories on the circuit since 2011. He was a member of the victorious continental European side in last year's Seve Trophy.

Thorbjorn Olesen - The young Dane is emerging as one of Europe's most promising players. He won the Sicilian Open of 2012, aged just 22 and has already posted top-10 finishes in the Open (2012) and the U.S. Masters (2013.)

Thongchai Jaidee - 13 times a champion on the Asian Tour and winner of the 2012 ISPS Handa Wales Open, Jaidee is one of Asia's greatest golfers. He was tied sixth in the recent WGC - Cadillac Championship.

Koumei Oda - He's a powerful hitter and has been a professional since 2000. He has six wins on the Japan Golf Tour and finished 2013 in third place on the circuit's money list.

Prayad Marksaeng - He's one of the most experienced players in this event. The Thai golfer has 13 victories as a professional. The 48-year-old has represented Thailand five times in the World Cup.

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?