After the thrilling first edition of the EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM resulted in a 10-10 tie between Europe and Asia, many of the event\u2019s biggest stars united in their praise of the event as they welcomed the Prime Minister of Malaysia\u2019s announcement that the biennial competition will take place in his country in 2016 and 2018.<\/p>\n
With its future secured, European Captain Miguel Angel Jim\u00e9nez, Thomas Bj\u00f6rn, Graeme McDowell, Gonzalo Fernandez-Casta\u00f1o, Asian Captain Thongchai Jaidee and Gaganjeet Bhullar were among the first to offer their endorsements of the new team event between Asia and Europe, which further strengthens the partnership of The European and Asian Tours.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a great honour for me to be the Captain of Europe for the first EurAsia Cup and it is great news that the tournament will be played in Malaysia for the next two editions,\u201d said Jim\u00e9nez.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a great event and really showed team golf at its best, with Europe taking a strong lead but the Asian Team making a fantastic comeback to tie the match. The EurAsia Cup has amazing potential. Team match play events are very special, and we hope the next time that Europe take the trophy home.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Bj\u00f6rn, Chairman of The European Tour\u2019s Players\u2019 Committee, said: \u201cThe EurAsia Cup has a great future ahead and that\u2019s the important thing. The way the tournament unfolded could not have been any better. It came down to the last match on the last hole: it doesn\u2019t get any better than that.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything about it was brilliant. You’ve got to take the 20 players out of the frame and look at the bigger picture and to know that it’s going to take place in Malaysia for the next two editions gives us a great chance to keep going and continue growing it into a bigger and bigger event.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs an event for the game of golf in Asia, and in terms of The European and Asian Tours uniting and standing together in partnership, the EurAsia Cup is of huge importance and it’s an amazing vehicle to build the game in this part of the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can make those ties between the tours stronger and make young people more excited about the game, because young people can relate to team competitions more than they can relate to individual sports, and that’s one of the things I think this will bring to Asia golf and see how important it is. It has a great future.\u201d
<\/p>\n
McDowell, the 2010 US Open Champion and a veteran of three Ryder Cups including two European victories, said: \u201cTeam golf is very special. It brings players so close together and last week was another perfect example of that. It was very exciting out there and I just hope this event can go from strength\u2011to\u2011strength and really establish itself as a big match. I think the European Team all enjoyed the week and the tournament certainly it got what it deserved in a very, very exciting finish between two very evenly\u2011matched teams in the end.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo hear the Prime Minister announce that the tournament will stay in Malaysia for the next two editions was a very strong statement for this event. It has amazing potential.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fernandez-Casta\u00f1o, who holed a four-foot par putt on the 18th green at the Glenmarie Golf and Country Club before conceding opponent Hideto Tanihara of Japan\u2019s short putt to ensure the inaugural EurAsia Cup would end in a draw, said: \u201cThis is big. This is going to be the next big thing in golf and I’m really proud of being part of the first edition of the EurAsia Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thongchai is looking forward to featuring in the EurAsia Cup again in two years\u2019 time after the absorbing first contest.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to support this tournament. It was a great event and I\u2019m sure it will become bigger and better. We\u2019ve had a great start this week with an amazing match against Europe. I want to play in this event again,\u201d said Thongchai
<\/p>\n
Bhullar was thrilled to be part of Asia\u2019s stunning comeback, a feat the young Indian feels has given Asian golf and its players a huge boost of confidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this week, representing the whole continent and taking that responsibility was a great, great pleasure. I\u2019m looking forward to qualifying for the EurAsia Cup again in the future as we\u2019ve just had a fantastic first event. The week was huge and you could see that it was a great event.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the EurAsia Cup is a great moment for Asian golf because it puts us on the map and I know a lot of people will now take notice of our team and of the Asian Tour.\u201d<\/p>\n
Team Asia<\/strong><\/p>\n Thongchai Jaidee (Captain, Thailand), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Thailand), Gaganjeet Bhullar (India), Nicholas Fung (Malaysia), Kim Hyung-sung (Korea,) Anirban Lahiri (India), Prayad Marksaeng (Thailand), Koumei Oda (Japan), Siddikur Rahman (Bangladesh), Hideto Tanihara (Japan).<\/p>\n Team Europe<\/strong><\/p>\n Miguel Angel Jimenez (Captain, Spain), Thomas Bjorn (Denmark), Jamie Donaldson (Wales), Victor Dubuisson (France), Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spain), Stephen Gallacher (Scotland), Pablo Larrazabal (Spain), Joost Luiten (Netherlands), Graeme McDowell (N Ireland), Thorbjorn Olesen (Denmark).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After the thrilling first edition of the EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM resulted in a 10-10 tie between Europe and Asia, many of the event\u2019s biggest stars united in their praise of the event as they welcomed the Prime Minister of Malaysia\u2019s announcement that the biennial competition will take place in his country in 2016 and 2018.<\/p>\n With its future secured, European Captain Miguel Angel Jim\u00e9nez, Thomas Bj\u00f6rn, Graeme McDowell, Gonzalo Fernandez-Casta\u00f1o, Asian Captain Thongchai Jaidee and Gaganjeet Bhullar were among the first to offer their endorsements of the new team event between Asia and Europe, which further strengthens the partnership of The European and Asian Tours.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a great honour for me to be the Captain of Europe for the first EurAsia Cup and it is great news that the tournament will be played in Malaysia for the next two editions,\u201d said Jim\u00e9nez.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a great event and really showed team golf at its best, with Europe taking a strong lead but the Asian Team making a fantastic comeback to tie the match. The EurAsia Cup has amazing potential. Team match play events are very special, and we hope the next time that Europe take the trophy home.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world-golf-news"],"yoast_head":"\n