Press Release

HOWELL AND KAPUR COMPLETE TEAMS
FOR ROYAL TROPHY MATCH

India’s Shiv Kapur and two-time Ryder Cup star David Howell from England will round off the Asian and European teams for the 2008 Royal Trophy in January.
Kapur, 25, a gold medallist in the 2002 Asian Games, will join compatriot Jeev Milkha Singh in the Asian team captained by Japan’s Naomichi ‘Joe’ Ozaki.
Also playing for Asia are Japanese duo Toru Taniguchi and Hideto Tanihara, South Korea’s Charlie Wi and Lee Dong-Hwan, and Thongchai Jaidee, Prayad Marksaeng and Chapchai Nirat from Thailand.
They will be pitting themselves against Europe, which is again captained by Spain’s Seve Ballesteros, who has led his team to Royal Trophy success since the first tournament in 2006.
Howell will play alongside Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley of Ireland and Niclas Fasth and Robert Karlsson of Sweden, veterans of the 2007 Royal Trophy.
Newcomers to the tournament Raphael Jacquelin and Gregory Havret of France, Denmark’s Anders Hansen and England’s Graeme Storm will also join the team.
‘Our only chance of beating the more experienced Europeans is by truly coming together as a team, and embracing the concept that we are all Asians determined to do our best for our continent,’ Ozaki said in a statement.
The Royal Trophy is inspired by the enormously popular Ryder Cup, where teams from the United States and Europe compete. The event takes place January 11-13 at the Amata Spring Country Club in Bangkok.