Captain Singh

Team Asia captain Jeev Milkha Singh, a two-time Asian Tour number one and multiple winner in Japan and Europe, talks about the honour of leading the continent into battle against Europe at the second edition of the EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM in this in-depth interview. The Ryder Cup-style event takes place at Glenmarie Golf and Country Club from January 15-17.

What do you think of Darren Clarke as team captain of Europe?

I’ve known Darren for a long time and it’s going to be good fun. He’s a fighter, he’s a good player and has achieved a lot in his career. It’ll be good fun.

He has vowed to not lose the EurAsia Cup to Jeev Milkha Singh. How do you respond to that?

I’ll say the same thing too! We’ll find out on January 17.

What will your mantra be as captain of Asia when your team meets for the first time on Monday of the EurAsia Cup week?

My mantra will be to make the team feel confident, comfortable and have the self belief to compete against the best.

With four captain’s picks, what will your thought process be to make those selections?

I’ll be looking at the players’ world rankings, their form this season and their stats such as greens hit, putts and fairways made as stats don’t lie. I’ll look at their weekly form and what tournaments they’ve won recently.

There is a prospect that Malaysia’s Danny Chia could make your team. Thoughts about him and what will he bring to the team?

I think he’ll bring a lot. He’s the best player from Malaysia right now and he’s proven himself for years. It’ll be great for the Malaysian crowd to watch their own player compete in the EurAsia Cup and perform in front of them. Vice versa, it’ll be great for Danny to see the Malaysian fans supporting him and the team and he’s got to take it all positively for himself and the team.

Is it an advantage for Asia to be playing in Malaysia?

I think it is because of the heat and humidity in Kuala Lumpur. European players will be coming out from the winter months but they are fighters too. We’ll see what happens.

Final question, do you think Asia can win the EurAsia Cup?

For sure Asia can win it. There are three reasons, home advantage, my belief in my team’s ability and the third point will be that every player will be giving 100% for Asia which is the most important thing in this event.

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