The Royal Trophy was a men's professional team golf tournament which was played between 2006 and 2013. The competing teams represented Europe and Asia. Eight man teams played a series of 16 matches involving foursomes, four-ball and singles for the right to hold a trophy donated by the King of Thailand.[1]
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | 2013: Guangzhou, China |
| Established | 2006 |
| Course(s) | 2013: Dragon Lake Golf Club |
| Par | 2013: 72 |
| Length | 2013: 6,968 yards (6,372 m) |
| Format | Match play |
| Month played | December |
| Final year | 2013 |
| Final champion | |
| Europe | |
The first four contests, from 2006 to 2010, were played at the Amata Spring Country Club in Chonburi, Thailand. In 2011 the event moved to a different venue in Thailand and then moved to Brunei and China.
The Royal Trophy was one of several team golf tournaments between teams from different regions of the world started since the 1990s, inspired by the popularity of the Ryder Cup.[2] In March 2014 the European Tour and the Asian Tour launched a new team tournament, the EurAsia Cup, also played between teams represented Europe and Asia. The Royal Trophy planned for December 2014 was cancelled and has not been held since.
Event history
editSeve Ballesteros, a leading proponent of team golf competitions, captained the European team in the inaugural tournament, and Japan's Masahiro Kuramoto captained Asia. Europe's team included the highly ranked David Howell and Paul McGinley, and former World Number 1s Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam were Ballesteros's captain's picks. Europe won the inaugural event by 9 points to 7.
Europe retained the trophy in 2007 with a 12½–3½ victory. The 2008 event was due to take place from 11–13 January, but was postponed due to a 15-day period of national mourning for the King of Thailand's sister,[3] and was ultimately cancelled. The third edition took place in January 2009 with the Asian team winning for the first time. In 2010, Europe regained the trophy, winning by the smallest possible margin, 8½–7½. Europe won again in 2011 but Asia won the trophy again in 2012 after a sudden-death play-off. Europe won the final edition in 2013, again by a small margin, 8½–7½.
Format
editThe Royal Cup involved various match play competitions between players selected from two teams of eight. The winner of each match scored a point for his team, with half a point each for any match that was tied after the 18 holes. The winning team was determined by cumulative total points. In the event of a tie (8 points each) the Royal Cup was decided by a sudden-death playoff.
| Year | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Total Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning | Afternoon | Morning | Afternoon | Morning | Afternoon | ||
| 2006-08 | 4 foursomes | 4 fourballs | 8 singles | 16 | |||
| 2009-13 | 4 foursomes | 4 fourballs | 8 singles | 16 | |||
Results
edit| Year | Venue | Winning team | Score | Europe captain | Asia captain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Tournament cancelled[4] | ||||
| 2013 | Dragon Lake Golf Club, China | Europe | 8½–7½ |  José María Olazábal |
 Yang Yong-eun
|
| 2012 | Empire Hotel and Country Club, Brunei | Asia[5] | 8–8 | José María Olazábal |
 Naomichi Ozaki
|
| 2011 | Black Mountain Golf Club, Thailand | Europe | 9–7 |  Colin Montgomerie |
Naomichi Ozaki
|
| 2010 | Amata Spring Country Club, Thailand | Europe | 8½–7½ | Colin Montgomerie |
Naomichi Ozaki
|
| 2009 | Amata Spring Country Club, Thailand | Asia | 10–6 | José María Olazábal |
Naomichi Ozaki
|
| 2008 | Tournament cancelled[3] | ||||
| 2007 | Amata Spring Country Club, Thailand | Europe | 12½–3½ | Seve Ballesteros |
Naomichi Ozaki
|
| 2006 | Amata Spring Country Club, Thailand | Europe | 9–7 | Seve Ballesteros |
Masahiro Kuramoto
|
See also
editNotes and references
edit- ^ "Asia gives thumbs down to Down Under proposal". Reuters. 31 October 2008. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
- ^ "Ozaki to captain Asia against Seve's Europe at Royal Trophy". The Star (Malaysia). 1 November 2006. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
- ^ a b "Thailand Royal postponed due to death". The Australian. 4 January 2008. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
- ^ "Royal Trophy 'postponed' just days before tee off". Yahoo. 15 December 2014.
- ^ Asia won on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.