José Maria Olazábal has been appointed Captain of the European Team for the third edition of the Royal Trophy to be played between the Continents of Europe and Asia from January 9-11, 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand.
The legendary Seve Ballesteros led the Europeans to victory in the two previous editions of the competition and was already deeply involved in Europe’s preparations for the upcoming series of before he took ill in October. A brain tumour was discovered and Ballesteros underwent a series of surgeries from which he is now out of intensive care.
The concept of the Royal Trophy originates from Ballesteros’ dream of bringing the people of Asia and Europe together in a unique, emotionally-charged and passionate match played in a true spirit of sportsmanship and providing a great inspiration for the young people of the two continents.
As Ballesteros recovers from what he himself referred to as “the hardest challenge of my life”, there could be no one better to lead the European Team than the two-time Masters Champion Olazábal.
The winner of 30 international career titles, Olazábal himself completed a great triumph over adversity when, after recovering from rheumatoid polyarthritis in three joints of his right foot and two in his left, he won the Masters Tournament, five years after he first triumphed at Augusta National.
The names of the two Spanish legends will always be inextricably linked because of their peerless Ryder Cup partnership, one of the most formidable in history, with 11 wins and two halves out of 15 matches.
Olazábal is perceived as the ideal person to take the captaincy of the European Team in the present circumstances due to his extremely close friendship with Ballesteros, his well-known leadership skills and his fantastic Ryder Cup experience. The 42 year old was Nick Faldo’s Vice-Captain at Valhalla earlier this year and is regarded as a certain future Ryder Cup Captain for Europe.
“I am truly honoured to have been appointed by Seve to take such an important responsibility and I will do my best to deliver a win for my great friend and for Europe. I plan to stay in contact with Seve throughout the process and to work with him as a partner – just like we did in the golf course for so many years in The Ryder Cup;” said Olazábal .
The Asian Team will be captained for the second consecutive year by the thirty five tournament title winner Naomichi ‘Joe’ Ozaki.
The Japanese golfing giant has already announced a powerful selection of top players to represent the Continent of three billion people. The Asian line-up includes 2008 Japan Tour three-time tournament winner Prayad Marksaeng and two-time Asian Tour Order of Merit number one Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand; the US PGA Tour’s Charlie Wi and eight-time Japan Tour Tournament winner S.K. Ho of Korea; 2007 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner Liang Wen-chong of China; and two-time Japan Tour Order of Merit champion Toru Taniguchi, the winner of two tournaments in this year’s Japan Tour season Hideto Tanihara and seventeen year old Japanese super star Ryo Ishikawa.
The Royal Trophy is played in a team match-play format with four foursomes matches played on the first day of the competition, the two Continents battling in four four-ball matches on day two and the European and Asian players facing off in eight singles matches on the final day. The winning Continent will secure stewardship over the sixteen-kilogram solid-silver Royal Trophy graciously donated by His Majesty the King of Thailand.
