"It is a great honour to captain the European team in this second edition of the Royal Trophy.

Asia is a great continent and golf is growing fast in this very large and significant part of the world.  The first edition of the Royal Trophy created great excitement in Europe and Asia, and I sincerely believe that the Kingdom of Thailand is an ideal location to host this history-making event.

I sincerely thank His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand for the great support the event has received in the Kingdom of Thailand. Without question, the Royal Trophy is very unique and will have a fantastic future. The tournament will also always carry a clear Thai heritage stamped by His Majesty's gracious donation of the beautiful perpetual trophy.

I wish to thank Amata Spring Country Club for their commitment to be the host venue of this second edition of the Royal Trophy which features a powerful group of blue-chip sponsors, including Heineken, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Siam Commercial Bank.

We are looking forward to strong competition from the Asian team as it would be tremendously meaningful for them to win at home. There is no doubt that they will put up a highly spirited fight. Our European team takes the match very seriously as there is great pride at stake and we will compete very hard to retain stewardship over the Royal Trophy.

The winners above all will be the golf fans of Europe and Asia who will witness a fantastic three days of team golf at its very best."