Wednesday, January 07, 2009

I will keep fighting to win my most difficult
match, says Seve in message to Europe team

Seve Ballesteros says he has set his sights on returning next year to captain Europe's Royal Trophy team against an Asian Select.
A statement from the Spaniard was read at a news conference in Bangkok today, two days before this year's competition begins with Jose Maria Olazabal deputising for Seve as the European skipper..
"My heart and thoughts are with you," Ballesteros said in his message. "I will keep fighting to win my most difficult match. I hope to be with all of you next year."
Ballesteros was diagnosed with a brain tumor late last year and required several operations. He was released from a hospital on December 9 and returned home to northern Spain, where he began chemotherapy treatment.
"Special thanks to Oli for taking over the captaincy," Ballesteros said. "He is not only a great champion but is also one of my best friends."
Olazabal said Ballesteros, who led Europe to the Royal Trophy title in 2006 and 2007, was hopeful the team would win the event at Amata Spring Country Club in Thailand's Chonburi province.
"The last instruction that I received from Seve was to win. Period," Olazabal said. "Seve showed how good he was as a player and then as a captain. I will try to follow him. These eight guys are great players and I'm positive that we will win which is our goal."
The European team features Ireland's Paul McGinley, England's Oliver Wilson and Nick Dougherty, Sweden's Niclas Fasth and Johan Edfors, Scotland's Paul Lawrie, Spain's Pablo Larrazabal and Denmark's Soren Hansen.
The Asian is Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee and Prayad Marksaeng, South Korea's Charlie Wi and S.K. Ho, China's Liang Wenchong and Japan's Ryo Ishikawa, Hideto Tanihara and Toru Taniguchi.

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