Asia's lesser-known stars are fired up to deny their more fancied European opponents victory when the EurAsia Cup begins Friday in Kuala Lumpur. Asia went close to a big upset in the inaugural event two years ago when they held Europe to a 10-10 tie in the Ryder Cup-style team match play showdown at the same Glenmarie Golf and Country Club venue. With four players inside the world's top 50, headed by the prolific-winning 27th-ranked Thongchai Jaidee, Asia is exuding confidence going into the three-day event on home soil. Captaining the Asian Team is Jeev Milka Singh, a winner of 20 events around the world and a veteran of team competition including competing the 2003 Dynasty Cup winning team. He was also a member of the victorious 2012 Royal Trophy side for Asia against Europe. Singh will draw upon Florida-based Korean rising star An Byeong-Hun who stormed his way to victory last May in the European Tour headquarters' own backyard when he won the prestigious PGA Championship at Wentworth. Singh will also look to fellow Indian Anirban Lahiri, who competed in the 2014 EurAsia Cup and is currently ranked 43rd in the world having stormed to the Asian Tour's 2015 Order of Merit title and finished fifth in the final major of the year, the US PGA Championship. "To play in the first EurAsia Cup was very important to me and very important in the bigger picture of my career," said Lahiri. By contrast, the England pair of Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter will be under pressure to perform with one eye on the Ryder Cup later this year after being afforded "wildcard" picks by close companion and European Team captain, Darren Clarke. Clarke, who is also Ryder Cup captain, is eager to savor European success nine months before he leads his team to Hazeltine to compete against the USA. Westwood, as a veteran of seven Ryder Cups and winner of the 1997 and 2014 Malaysian Open titles, is only too aware of his responsibility. "Darren looked at his team and sees it a young team with not too much team experience so he wanted some experience in there," said Westwood. "Therefore, he picked myself and Ian and when you are a wildcard pick, you do feel a bit more pressure to perform and validate that pick." This year features 12-man teams with a total of 24 points on offer, meaning the first team to 12.5 points will win. In 2014 only 10 players from each team took part. EurAsia Cup format: — Friday: Six fourball matches — Saturday: Six foursome (alternate shot)matches — Sunday: 12 singles Each match counts one point for a victory, half a point if finishing all square after 18 holes.
