Asia’s lessor known team of golf stars is primed to deny their more fancied array of European Team opponents victory in the Friday’s commencing EurAsia Cup in Kuala Lumpur.

Asia went close to a boil over in the inaugural event two years ago in holding Europe to a 10-all draw on the Glenmarie Golf and Country Club course.

However with four players, and headed by prolific-winning Thongchai Jaidee and the current World No. 27, inside the world’s top 50, Asia will be no walkover in the three-day event.

Captaining the Asian Team captain is Jeev Milka Singh, a winner of 20 events around the world and a veteran of team competition including competing in the 2003 winning Dynasty Cup and being a member of the victorious 2012 Royal Trophy before that event was replaced with the EurAsia Cup.

The Asian Team for the 2016 EurAsia Cup. (Photo – Eoin Clarke/www,golffile.ie)

Singh will also draw upon Florida-based Korean heavy-weight golfer Byeonghun An who stormed his way to victory last May right on the front doorstep of the European Tour in capturing the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in Surrey.

“I have talked a lot to Jeev of late because we both play on the European Tour, and now as a member of his team I know how important this week is to him and the Asian Tour,” said An.

“He’s a good captain and as soon as I arrived here in Malaysia he has made me feel really comfortable so that I feel like I am at home.

“So I really like him as a person and a friend.”

Singh will also look to fellow Indian-born Anirban Lahiri who competed in the 2014 EurAsia Cup and is currently ranked No. 43 in the world.

“To play in the first EurAsia Cup was very important to me and very important in the bigger picture of my career,” said Lahiri.

“It helped my confidence and it was the very first taste of team competition at a high level.

“There had been a lot of hype in the media that we were the underdogs and that wasn’t very positive, so it was a key moment in Asian Tour golf to tie the competition with every player contributing and every player putting his heart out on the line and that made that week so special.

Darren Clarke’s 2016 EurAsia Cup side. (Photo – Eoin Clarke/www.golffile,ie)

“Of course now with that experience and the overall experience in this year’s team we are quietly confident of getting out hands on the trophy.”

In contrast, the England pair of Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter will be under enormous pressure to perform after being afforded ‘wildcard’ picks by close companion and European Team Captain, Darren Clarke.

Clarke, also as 2016 European Ryder Cup Captain, is eager to savour a European success in the Malaysian capital some nine months before he leads his Ryder Cup European Team to Hazeltine to compete against the USA.

And Westwood, as a veteran of seven Ryder Cup’s and winner of the 1997 and 2014 Malaysian Open titles, is only too aware of not disappointing Clarke.

“Darren looked at his team and see’s 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.

“But then I’ve been a pick for the Ryder Cup a couple of times though this is my first EurAsia Cup.”

The only change to this year’s format is the addition of two player to each team making it a 12-man side compared to 10 in 2014.