A member of Asia's greatest golfing dynasty will lead the campaign to wrest the Royal Trophy from European hands in January. Naomichi 'Joe' Ozaki, one of Asia's greatest ever players and brother of two more top professionals in Masashi and Tateo - otherwise known as Jumbo and Jet - will captain the Asian Team to take on the Seve Ballesteros-led Europeans.
The Ozaki name is synonymous with Asian golf due to the immense impact the Ozaki brothers have made in the sport including topping the Japanese Order of Merit over ten times and winning well over one hundred tournament titles. Joe Ozaki, the youngest of the three brothers, is a golfing great in his own right. He has finished at the top of the Japanese Order of Merit two times and has won 35 career titles. He is third on the all-time list of Japan's career prize money winners having earned over USD 15 million.
He will be a tremendously popular choice to succeed fellow Japanese star Masahiro Kuramoto as captain, and declared his determination to help Asia's top players avenge their narrow 9-7 defeat in the first Royal Trophy in 2006.
"I am truly honoured to have been selected to captain the Asian Team in the Royal Trophy. I am very much looking forward to the competition. Being the Asian Team captain is a very exciting opportunity but also a great responsibility," said Ozaki. The Japanese golf here, who first learned how to play golf from his brother Jumbo, added: "We will be representing all of Asia, which includes so many major nations and a massive population of over three billion people. That adds up to a lot of support - and a lot of expectation!"
"Playing for your country is already a huge responsibility. Playing for your continent is truly special and I am looking forward to leading an Asian Team which will include players from many of our strongest golfing nations. Facing the Europeans, who are the Ryder Cup holders and arguably the most potent force in world golf, is not an easy task. But I am totally determined to motivate and lead our Asian Team to produce some great golf during the competition, and to make every effort possible to secure stewardship over the Royal Trophy, donated by His Majesty the King of Thailand," said a confident Ozaki.
Ozaki will certainly not be overawed by the challenge of bringing together players from different nations. He already has experience of playing in the Presidents' Cup against the Americans, as part of an International team chosen from every other golfing nation outside of Europe and the USA.
Like many other people he wondered back then why the massive Asian continent had never fielded its own team - and was delighted when that vision became a reality at the start of this year, as the Royal Trophy was launched to great acclaim. Ozaki followed the progress of the first event, at Thailand's exclusive Amata Spring Country Club, through news bulletins and the extensive television coverage. Having witnessed its highly successful first staging which featured record-breaking fan attendance, he is delighted at the prospect of playing such a key role when the Royal Trophy returns to the immaculate Bangkok venue from January 12-14, 2007.
And he is thrilled to be pitting his wits against Ballesteros, a charismatic figure who has carved his name deep in golfing folklore. Ozaki added: "It will be great to face Seve as the European Team captain and I am sure the Royal Trophy will provide some tremendous competition. Seve is a golfing legend - which will make it even more pleasurable if I can help the Asian Team to take the Trophy back from him!" |
