New match-play event between Europe and Asia to take place in 2014

By Gary Anderson

August 26 - A new Ryder Cup style match-play event between the leading players from Europe and Asia is set to take place at the Glenmarie Golf and Country Club in Malaysia next year.

The EurAsia Cup, which is scheduled to take place between March 28 and 30, will feature the top ten golfers from Europe and Asia taking part in competition over three days in a format similar to that used in the Ryder Cup which is contested between Europe and the United States every two years.

The inaugural tournament in 2014 will mark 15 years since the two Tours first came together to co-sanction the Malaysian Open in 1999, which continues to form part of both Tours.

Europe's 10-man team will consist of the Race to Dubai 2013 top four, the top four available from the Official World Golf Ranking on Monday, February 3, 2014 and two captain's picks.

The Asian team will include the leading four available players from the final 2013 Asian Tour Order of Merit, the leading three players invited on the basis of their Official World Golf Ranking and three captain's picks.

The captains for both teams will be chosen and announced at a later date by the European and Asian Tour organisers.

The EurAsia Cup will be sponsored by Malaysian automotive company DRB-HICOM and will form part of the early schedule of the 2014 European Tour.

Japan's Hideki Matsuyama (left) and Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy could be set to lock horns in the first ever EurAsia Cup in March next year

"We are delighted to announce the inaugural EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM as part of our initial sector of the 2014 European Tour international schedule, and we are all excited by the prospect of this match-play event between Europe and Asia," said chief operating officer of the European Tour, Keith Waters.

"Our thanks go to DRB-HICOM, Glenmarie Golf and Country Club, Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) and the Malaysian Government for supporting this event, which extends the European Tour's already strong partnership with the Asian Tour that dates back to 1999, when Malaysia staged the first co-sanctioned event between the two Tours."

As well as the EurAsia Cup, another new event is being added to the European Tour schedule in the form of the Nedbank Golf Challenge, which will take place at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, South Africa later this year from December 5 to 8.

The tournament is co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour - based in Southern Africa - and the European Tour, and with a total prize fund of $6,500,000, hopes to attract some of the top names in golf to feature in a 30-strong field.

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