Golf history in the making

The year 2006 was an historic year for golf with the staging of the first-ever Royal Trophy golf Championship which was held in early January at the 7,453 yard and very challenging Amata Spring Country Club. The Event was highlighted by a record spectator attendance, beautiful weather, extensive media coverage and exciting, highly competitive golf. Despite top honors going to the European Team in the end with a thrilling 9-7 victory, the Asian players put up an impressive and brave fight.

The European team included well-known names like Europe's number one, David Howell, Thomas Bjorn, Henrik Stenson and Paul McGinley, as well as legends of the game Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam. Seve Ballesteros' captainship was only fitting as this five-time Major winner is a golfing great with a huge following. "The Royal Trophy is a very meaningful development for our sport, and I believe it will grow into one of the world's greatest golf events," he said.

Pressure is something professional players live with. But team golf takes it to another level. Passion, pride and intensity come to the fore. Every shot is vital and the fans become more vocal. The result is a memorable sporting drama experienced by thousands of fans. The potential of the Royal Trophy, organised by Entertainment Group Limited and Amen Corner, is immense. It is a great competition for European and Asian fans, as team golf is unique, highly competitive and generates great passion while at the same time highlighting sportsmanship in its purest form.

The very successful and inaugural Royal Trophy will undoubtedly go down in golfing history as one of the most important golf events since American businessman Sammuel Ryder and other golf enthusiasts launched the Ryder Cup in 1927. It all started years back when Seve Ballesteros, while talking about his experiences in the Ryder Cup, said: "It would be very special if someday the great continents of Europe and Asia would come together for a Ryder Cup-format competition." Soon afterwards, Asian sports marketing company Entertainment Group and Spain's Amen Corner set up a partnership to develop the Event, and by early-2005 the tournament format was announced.

In mid-2005, the perpetual Royal Trophy was donated by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand as the principal award for the competition, and the magnificent Amata Spring Country Club in Bangkok was selected as the venue. Great blue-chip corporations decided to support the Championship including Heineken, BMW, Siam Commercial Bank, national oil and gas giant PTT, Thai telecom powerhouse i-mobile and the Tourism Authority of Thailand. The stage was set, so to speak, for the inaugural event. (READ MORE)