Europe pull off unlikely Royal Trophy win

Europe, led by Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie pulled off an unlikely Royal Trophy defence to retain the trophy after the concluding singles matches in Hua Hin, Thailand.

Trailing the Asian team 6-2 after the foursomes and fourballs matches, it looked like the European team would relinquish their hold on the trophy. But captain marvel Monty galvanised his troops in the singles and limited the Asian team to just one point from the 2.5 points they needed to win.

Sweden’s Peter Hanson was the first match out, and the Ryder Cup player fought back from two down to blitz Liang Wen-chong by a massive 7&6 scoreline.

Hanson’s countryman, Frederik Anderrsson Hed, Wales’ Rhys Davies and Montgomerie also chalked up wins against Yuta Ikeda and Ryo Ishikawa of Japan, and Kim Kyung-tae of Korea respectively. Hed defeatead Ikeda 2&1, Davies saw off Ishikawa 4&2 while Montgomerie won 3&1 to tie the match at 6-6.

Another Swede, Henrik Stenson claimed a half-point with a last-gasp birdie against Noh Seung-yul, before young Italian sensation Matteo Manassero added another point for the Europeans by beating Japan’s Shunsuke Sonoda by 1-up to nose the Europeans in front.

Despite the fight back, it appeared that the Asian team still held the aces with India’s Jeev Milkha Singh level after 17 holes in his match against Spaniard Pablo Martin, while Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee would take a 1 up lead down the last in his match against Sweden’s Johan Edfors, who had been as much as 3 up in the match before Jaidee fought back by winning four successive holes from the 14th.

However, a birdie on the 18th from Martin after landing his approach just two feet from the pin would see him claim a vital point after Singh missed his own birdie attempt, while Edfors also won the 18th hole with a par to halve the match with Jaidee.

Montgomerie names Royal Trophy team

Victorious Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie has finalised his Europe team to take on Asia in next month’s defence of the Royal Trophy. The tournament, which follows a Ryder Cup format, will take place between January 7-9 2011, at the Black Mountain Golf Club, Hua Hin in Thailand.

Montgomerie had agreed to lead the side for a second year at the request of his friend and five-times major winner Seve Ballesteros, who founded the Royal Trophy five years ago, and Montgomerie will be player-captain once again in the event after steering Europe to a 8-7 victory in the last renewal.

Naomichi ‘Joe’ Ozaki will captain Asia for the fourth time.

Both teams consist of eight players, and Montgomerie has called in two of his victorious Ryder Cup squad in Italian Edoardo Molinari and Swede Peter Hanson. They will be joined by Ryder Cup vice-captain Thomas Bjorn.

The rest of the European team will feature Molinari’s fellow Italian and 2010 sensation Matteo Manassero, Hanson’s fellow Swedes Johan Edfors and Henrik Stenson, and Wales’ Rhys Davies.

The Asia team consists of Japanese players Ryo Ishikawa, Yuta Ikeda and Shunsuke Sonoda; South Korea’s Kim Kyung-tue and Noh Seung-yul; China’s Liang Wenchong; Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee and India’s Jeev Milkha Singh.

Montgomerie to skipper Europe in 2011 Royal Trophy

Winning Ryder Cup skipper Colin Montgomerie will reprise his role asEuropean player-captain in January’s Royal Trophy defence against Asia.

Montgomerie will stay on in the role at the request of golfing legend Seve Ballesteros, who had captained the team to wins in each of the first two renewals of the event, and will bid to retain the trophy which he and his team won 8.5-7.5 in a dramatic triumph in Bangkok earlier in the year when the final match of the tournament between Thonchai Jaidee and Henrik Stenson ended all-square.

Montgomerie will once again lock horns with Naomichi ‘Joe’ Ozaki, who will be captaining the Asian team for the fourth successive year.

Ballesteros, slowly fighting his way back to health after surgery to remove a brain tumour in 2008, is hoping to be fit enough to be present.

“I need to continue to take care of my health and it will depend on the advice of my doctors,” Ballesteros told Reuters.

“If I cannot be in Thailand for the tournament, I’ll be following on television and I’ll certainly be in very close contact with the captains and with our team on the ground.”

Monty and Europe regain Royal Trophy

Colin Montgomerie, captain of the European team for this year’s Ryder Cup match with the United States at The Celtic Manor resort, Wales saw some at first-hand some of the potential candidates for his squad as he lead his Royal Trophy team to victory over Asia at Thailand’s Amata Spring Country Club.

In a see-saw tussle which saw Asia and then Europe take the overall lead during the foursomes and fourballs matches on Friday and Saturday, it fell to Sweden’s Henrik Stenson to collect the half-point needed by the European team to secure the victory and regain the trophy by sinking a six-foot putt for par to half his match with Thongchai Jaidee.

Montgomerie, who was acting as captain in the absence of Seve Ballesteros as the Spanish legend continues his recovery from a brain tumour, played in the tournament himself as he ran the rule over some potential picks for his team to face the United States.

And the Scot showed he was no back number by collecting a half against Chinese number one Liang-Wen-chong.

Koumei Oda claimed an unexpected point for the hosts with a dominant 5&3 win over Alexander Noren before Indian star, Jeev Milkha Singh defeated Sweden’s Robert Karlsson 2&1.

However, the Europeans stepped up a gear and victories for Peter Hanson, Pablo Martin and Soren Kjeldsen meant the trophy would be settled by the final pairing, and it was Stenson who prevailed to regain the trophy they had relinquished 10-6 the previous year.

Stenson’s victory was all the more remarkable, especially as the Swede found himself three down after nine holes before bravely battling back to level the match with three holes to play. However, Jaidee birdied the 17th to edge ahead once again, and saw a par putt on the last shave the lip of the hole before Stenson held his nerve to make his own par putt and capture the half-point needed.

Afterwards, Montgomerie said: “It was an honour to captain the team. We came here with a strong team and it was very, very close.

“All credit to my team for fighting. They all contributed at least a point out there this week and we did great.

“It is a very important year for European golf and this has been a good start for us and we hope to build on this throughout the year.”

Monty wants Royal Trophy win!

Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie wants his European team to get off to a flier and set the tone for their clash with the United States by winning this week’s Royal Trophy against a strong Asia team at the Amata Springs Country Club in Thailand.

Montgomerie, who will adopt a player-captaincy role for the Royal Trophy wants the European side to halt a slide in European match-play golf which has seen European teams relinquish the Ryder Cup, Royal Trophy and Solheim Cups in past matches.

Montgomerie will also use the event to assess the chances of a number of potential Ryder Cup team-members ahead of the clash at The Celtic Manor and will be scrutinising their ability to handle the pressures of team golf. Among the European team are Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen, Englishman Simon Dyson, Pablo Martin of Spain and a quartet of Swedes in Henrik Stenson, Robert Karlsson, Alex Noren and Peter Hanson.

Despite a lack of big names in the European side, they will boast arguably the best current pair in the world when it comes to match play golf in Karlsson and Stenson who have proven their match-play credentials as a pairing. However, the Asia side is potentially as strong as it could be with players including teen Japanese star Ryo Ishikawa, Jeev Milkha Singh and Thongchai Jaidee in Asian lineup.

Montgomerie will become the first playing captain in the event, but insists the dual role won’t affect his leadership and could well prove beneficial as it would allow him the opportunity to monitor what was going on around him easier, especially has he has already selected his pairings.

The Royal Trophy gets underway on Friday and runs through to Sunday. The competition follows a Ryder Cup format with four sets of foursomes matches played on Friday, followed by fourballs on Saturday and eight singles matches on Sunday.

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