HUA HIN, THAILAND // Asia seized the upper hand in the Royal Trophy after thrashing Europe in today's fourballs to snatch a 6-2 lead and leave the holders with a mountain to climb on the final day.
Asia wrestled control of the competition with some precision putting to earn wins in all four matches against some out-of-sorts European pairings who never found their feet and now face a monumental challenge in the singles.
Europe's player-captain Colin Montgomerie will need wins from six of his eight players in Sunday's singles just to secure a play-off, while Asia can lift the trophy for a second time with two and a half points.
The teams were tied 2-2 after day one. Liang Wenchong and Noh Seung-yul led the Asian charge with a confident 5&4 win that left Montgomerie and putting phenomenon Rhys Davies in the shade for most of the round at the Black Mountain course in Hua Hin.
Birdies eluded the European pair after the sixth hole as the Asians forged ahead, opening up a four-stroke lead soon after the turn that Montgomerie and Davies stood no chance of undoing.
"The 11th hole was where it happened, we went four up and the pressure was off after that," Liang said. "I'm happy to be playing with Noh. He played well today."
The fifth and sixth holes proved to be the turning points for Asia, with three of the four pairings carving out leads of two strokes or more as cracks started to appear in the European effort on the greens.
Japanese duo Ryo Ishikawa and Shunsuke Sonoda were always in command in their 3&2 win over Matteo Manassero and Pablo Martin, with a cool-headed Ishikawa notching three straight birdies that helped put the Asians three strokes ahead by the seventh.
"So far, so good and tomorrow's going to be a great day," said Ishikawa. "I'll need to be at my best."
"We have good teamwork," Sonoda added. "If I missed, he (Ishikawa) didn't, and when he missed, I didn't."
Europe tried desperately to reduce the deficit but the Asians gave little away in the final holes to shut their opponents out.
Thongchai Jaidee, who has played in all five editions, recovered from a shocking first day and birdied six times, holing twice from off the greens.
He paired up with the impressive Yuta Ikeda, who chalked up eight birdies to reverse Friday's drubbing by Peter Hanson and Fredrik Andersson Hed with a 3&1 win.
Royal Trophy stalwarts Johan Edfors and Henrik Stenson, who holed Europe's winner last year, were uninspiring for a second successive day against Kim Kyung-tae and Jeev Milkha Singh.
Europe's woeful day was compounded when Edfors let slip an easy chance to take a half point when he missed a simple three-foot put on the 17th.
Draw for the singles matches (Asian names first)
Liang Wen-chong (CHN) v Peter Hanson (SWE) Noh Seung-Yul (KOR) v Henrik Stenson (SWE) Yuta Ikeda (JPN) v Fredrik Andersson Hed (SWE) Ryo Ishikawa (JPN) v Rhys Davies (WAL) Shunsuke Sonoda (JPN) v Matteo Manassero (ITA) Kim Kyung-Tae (KOR) v Colin Montgomerie (SCO) Jeev Milkha Singh (IND) v Pablo Martin (ESP) Thongchai Jaidee (THA) v Johan Edfors (SWE)
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Strait of Hormuz
Fujairah is a crucial hub for fuel storage and is just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.
The strait is 33 km wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just three km wide in either direction. Almost a fifth of oil consumed across the world passes through the strait.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, a move that would risk inviting geopolitical and economic turmoil.
Last month, Iran issued a new warning that it would block the strait, if it was prevented from using the waterway following a US decision to end exemptions from sanctions for major Iranian oil importers.
MATCH DETAILS
Chelsea 4
Jorginho (4 pen, 71 pen), Azpilicueta (63), James (74)
Ajax 4
Abraham (2 og), Promes (20). Kepa (35 og), van de Beek (55)
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Thursday’s fixtures
6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors
10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters
Teams
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
