Eurasia Cup: Europe fight back to defeat Asia

Kuala Lumpur: Europe came from behind to defeat Asia 14-10 and retain the EurAsia Cup title on Sunday, in a boost for captain Thomas Bjorn as he gears up for the Ryder Cup.

Bjorn’s side entered the final day of the tournament in Malaysia trailing Asia by one point but put on a masterclass in the singles, winning eight out of 12 matches.

It was a disappointment for Arjun Atwal’s men, as Team Asia had ended the first two days of the event — which featured foursome and fourball matches — with a slim lead.

Asia has never won the biennial Ryder Cup-style tournament.

Europe thrashed them the last time it was held in 2016 while the inaugural 2014 edition ended in a tie.

Europe dominated from the start Sunday and their winning point came when Belgium’s Thomas Pieters defeated South Korea’s An Byeong-Hun in a hard-fought match.

Bjorn hailed his side’s victory in the $4.8 million event: “It was a great performance today from every single one of them. There was a determination and a will of wanting to win this.”

Despite the loss, Atwal said he was “very proud” of his team.

“They are all awesome players, it’s just unfortunate that we ran into a buzzsaw today,” he said.

“It looked like every time I watched my players, they were hitting the edges and it seemed Europe, every time I watched them, were either chipping in or making birdies.”

Asia salvaged some pride with three points from victories by Thailand’s Poom Saksansin, Japan’s Yuta Ikeda and China’s Li Haotong.

South Korea’s Kang Sung-Hoon halved his match with England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick.