kuala lumpur: Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand is prepared to take on a new role when he represents Team Asia at the EurAsia Cup this week.
Team Asia captain Arjun Atwal of India will rely on world No.49 Kiradech to put points on the scoreboard and be a mentor to the younger players when they go up against Thomas Bjorn's Team Europe at the Glenmarie Golf and Country Club.
Kiradech, Anirban Lahiri of India and Nicholas Fung of Malaysia will make their third appearance in the EurAsia Cup and they are expected to impart their experience to debutants Gavin Green, Phachara Khongwatmai, Poom Saksansin, Li Haotong, Kang Sung-Hoon and Yuta Ikeda.
At 29, Kiradech is seen as the 'senior' in the team as compared to his teammates Phachara, who will be the youngest ever player to play in the EurAsia Cup at the age of 18 followed by China's Li (21). Reigning Order of Merit champion Green and Thailand's Poom who are both 24.
"This is a big event for Asia and I really want to make Asia proud. I will bring all my experience with me and help my team and the new and younger players. There are so many 'kids' in the team and I will do my best to guide them and improve our team," said Kiradech.
Kiradech will also be joined by Kang, a PGA Tour regular, Ikeda, the highest ranked player in Team Asia where he sits in 35th position on the Official World Golf Ranking and Hideto Tanihara, who was part of the 2014 team who secured a dramatic 10-10 draw against Team Europe.
"It is a big change for me. I would like to think that I'm the third generation of Thai golfers after Boonchu Ruangkit and Thongchai Jaidee. Now younger players look up to me and it is so different! They [Boonchu and Thongchai] even Arjun [Atwal] have done so well to inspire so many young golfers to play golf professionally.
"The young players in the team are so good and they will do well. They will just need some guidance from the more experienced players. We have a strong team this year. I have to congratulate Gavin [Green] because he played fantastic golf in 2017. So did the other players," said the Thai.
Team Europe will feature Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Paul Casey, Paul Dunne, Ross Fisher, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Alex Levy, Alex Noren, Thomas Pieters, Henrik Stenson and Bernd Wiesberger.
The EurAsia Cup will feature 24 matches, with day one showcasing six fourball matches, followed by six foursomes matches and 12 singles matches on the third day.
