Shah Alam, Malaysia: Team Asia Captain Jeev Milkha Singh has appointed China’s Liang Wen-chong as Vice Captain for the EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM which will be staged at Glenmarie Golf and Country Club from January 15 to 17.
Singh believes Liang, who is a former Asian Tour number one and a winner on both the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour, will provide strong support to him and the 12 playing members when they face a Darren Clarke-led Team Europe in the Ryder Cup-styled event.
“I am delighted to announce that Liang has accepted my invitation to be my Vice Captain for the EurAsia Cup,” said Singh, who is a former two-time Asian Tour number one.
“As he is widely respected by his peers in Asia and Japan and knows all our team members well, Liang will certainly add value to our team set-up. I will be counting on him to provide feedback on how my team members are playing and also on our team strategies and partnerships.
“Liang has always been known for his fighting qualities and never-say-die attitude on the golf course and I’m hoping this will positively impact Team Asia in our goal to win the EurAsia Cup. I believe we now have the ideal team make-up to achieve this goal.”
Liang, 37, became China’s first Asian Tour Order of Merit champion in 2007 and has three career Asian Tour titles. He also won his first tournament on the Japan Golf Tour this season.
The Chinese star said: “It is an honour to be appointed as Vice Captain of Team Asia and I would like to thanks Captain Jeev for his faith and belief in me. I have known Jeev for a while now and I have the utmost respect for him as a competitor and now as Team Asia Captain for the EurAsia Cup.
“I watched the first EurAsia Cup which ended in a 10-10 draw in 2014 and it was very exciting. I aim to contribute as much as I can to the team’s cause and I am confident Team Asia will be victorious come Sunday evening of the tournament week.
“The 12 players who will represent Asia are fantastic golfers and I will do everything I can to support them and enable them to perform their best for the team.”
The EurAsia Cup will feature 24 matches, with day one showcasing six Fourball matches, followed by six Foursomes matches and 12 Singles matches on the third day.
The winning team will share prize money of US$3.6 million while the runners-up will share US$1.2 million.
Team Asia will be represented by Anirban Lahiri, S.S.P. Chawrasia, Thongchai Jaidee, Danny Chia, Byeonghun An, Shingo Katayama, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, K.T. Kim, Nicholas Fung, Jeunghun Wang, Prayad Marksaeng and Wu Ashun.
Team Europe will feature Danny Willet, Ross Fisher, Victor Dubuisson, Chris Wood, Andy Sullivan, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, Bernd Wiesberger, Soren Kjeldsen, Kristoffer Broberg, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood.
