Y.E. Yang Joins Asia’s Challenge for The Royal Trophy

Hong Kong (Hong Kong) – October 4, 2012 – Asian Team Captain Naomichi ‘Joe’ Ozaki has announced the nomination of Asia’s first ever Major Championship winner, Korean Y.E. Yang, for the Continent’s challenge against the Europeans at the sixth edition of the Royal Trophy to be held on 14-16 December 2012 at The Empire Hotel & Country Club in the Sultanate of Brunei.

“I am very pleased to announce the nomination of Y.E. Yang for our Asian Team to confront the Europeans at The Empire Hotel & Country Club in the Sultanate of Brunei,” stated the Asian Captain Ozaki.

“Y.E. Yang is a highly accomplished player and has proven to be able to produce remarkable golf and astonishing shots even when facing maximum pressure,” added the Japanese golf legend who will lead Asia for the fifth consecutive time.

“He is a player I want wearing our Asian uniform when the pressure of representing the Continent peaks. I know that he is capable of facing anyone under any conditions in the golf course. He proved that winning the PGA Championship under remarkable circumstances and in winning his nine career titles,” further added Ozaki who is himself the winner of thirty-five career tournament titles.

Most famously remembered as the first Asian in the history of the game to win a Major Championship, Y.E. Yang shook the golf world when he did to Tiger Woods what Tiger Woods used to do to everyone else on the golf course – coming from behind to upset Woods to clinch the 2009 US PGA Championship at Hazeltine.

On an extremely challenging golf course, Yang prevailed in an intense final day same-flight head-to-head duel with Woods by taking the lead on the 14th hole and further widening it with a towering 197-yard strike to set up a 10-foot birdie on the 18th hole. Following the astounding victory, the first ever for any player trailing Tiger Woods on a 54-hole lead in a Major, Yang registered the arrival of Asian professional golf to the Major Championship’s roll of honour punching the air with his fists, holding his arms aloft in victory, high-fiving his caddie and breaking into a celebration dance.

“I have said before that our Asian Team is coming to Brunei to win. We will be prepared, we will be determined and we will compete with all our heart. We are playing for the people of Asia and we will do all we can to deliver an Asian victory. Y.E. Yang is a strong addition to our great Asian Team,” concluded the two-time Japan Tour Order of Merit champion Ozaki.

“We welcome all of the members of the Asian and European Teams to our Sultanate of Brunei for the Royal Trophy. This is a Championship of great importance to the Nation of Brunei and to the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources as a result of the tremendous positive implications to tourism industry development and overall socio-economic benefits to the country,” stated Yang Mulia Dayang Hajah Normah Suria Hayati binti P JDSMDSU (Dr) Haji Awang Mohd Jamil Al-Sufri, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (Hajah Normah).

“It is clear that Captain Ozaki’s appointment of Y.E. Yang adds enormous weight to the Asian Team. Y.E. Yang, Ryo Ishikawa, K.T. Kim and Yoshinori Fujimoto make for a formidable side and it certainly sets the stage for a monumental series of matches. Now it remains to be discovered who will be Captain Ozaki’s final four selections,” stated the Royal Trophy Managing Director Lincoln Venancio.

“The sixth edition of the Royal Trophy certainly promises to be an unforgettable Event and we are very appreciative of the support from all of the sponsors. We especially thank the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources of Brunei Darussalam and The Empire Hotel & Country Club for their great commitment,” concluded Lincoln Venancio.

Previous nominations by Asian Team Captain Naomichi ‘Joe’ Ozaki for the Asian Team for the sixth edition of the Royal Trophy include Japanese superstar Ryo Ishikawa – the youngest player in history to win a major Tour title, Asia’s match-play maestro and former Asian Games double gold medalist K.T. Kim of Korea and 2012 Japan Golf Tour Championship winner Yoshinori Fujimoto.

Scotland’s Ryder Cup player Paul Lawrie is European Team Captain José Maria Olazábal’s second nomination; and joins countryman and eight-time European Tour Order of Merit champion Colin Montgomerie OBE for the European defense.

The Europeans will travel to the Sultanate of Brunei very high in confidence following an incredible victory over the Americans at the 39th Ryder Cup; where the European Team came back from a 10-4 deficit at the final stages of the second day of the competition to produce one of the greatest recoveries in the history of sport and stun the USA with a 14 & ½ – 13 & ½ victory.

The sixth edition of the Royal Trophy – Europe vs Asia Golf Championship will be played at the palatial Empire Hotel & Country Club’s magnificent Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course set amidst the Sultanate of Brunei’s monumental rainforest and pristine South China Sea.

Remarkable travel packages are available which include travel on Royal Brunei Airlines and luxurious seven-star accommodation at The Empire Hotel & Country Club and at other excellent hotels in the Sultanate of Brunei.

The Royal Trophy will be immediately preceded by the 2012 Asia Pacific Golf Summit – an event firmly established as one of the world’s leading business gatherings for the golf industry.

The sixth edition of the Royal Trophy – Europe vs Asia Golf Championship will be played at The Empire Hotel & Country Club in the Sultanate of Brunei on 14-16 December 2012. The continents will compete in a series of 16 foursomes, four-ball and singles matches. The Royal Trophy Players’ Committee is comprised of Sir Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam OBE, José Maria Olazábal, Paul McGinley, Isao Aoki, Naomichi ‘Joe’ Ozaki and Jeev Milkha Singh. The Royal Trophy is sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour Organization and is promoted internationally by Entertainment Group (Asia) Limited.

For further information, please contact:
Doris Chang
Entertainment Group (Asia) Limited
Tel: (852) 2834 0060
Fax: (852) 2838 8593
Email: doris@eg-rt.com
Website: www.TheRoyalTrophy.com