Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates: So much for the best laid plans. For Rishi Narain and his Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) team it’s not all been plain sailing in the lead-up to the 12th edition of the Bonallack Trophy.
Narain and his 12-strong line-up are bidding to create history at Al Hamra Golf Club this week as they attempt to defeat the European Golf Association (EGA) for the third successive occasion in the biennial Ryder Cup-style contest.
It’s a feat they’ve never before accomplished since the inauguration of the team match play event in 1998.
But following narrow wins at Qatar’s Doha Golf Club in 2018 (16.5-15.5) and Spain’s La Manga Club in 2023 (17-15), there’s cautious optimism about completing a hat-trick of wins at Al Hamra.
However, against a power-packed European team determined to avoid the ignominy of a third defeat in a row, Narain knows his players will need to be at their very best in the three-day event that tees-off tomorrow morning with five foursomes clashes and will be followed by five fourball matches in the afternoon.
Similar formats will be applied on Thursday before the tournament concludes on Friday with 12 singles match-ups.
“It’s shaping up to be a fantastic match between two All-Star teams,” said Narain, who retained the captaincy after leading the Asia-Pacific to a famous victory in Spain 18 months ago.
“It’s a fabulous course and perfect conditions for many of the best amateur golfers in the world to showcase their talent. With the quality of the players taking part, I believe this is one of the strongest amateur events in world golf,” added Indian Narain, a former Tour professional.
Narain’s view is backed up by the fact that the participants include eight of the top-50 in the men’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) and 13 of the top-100.
While the European team is spearheaded by Spaniards Jose Luis Ballester (fifth in the WAGR) and Pablo Ereno Perez (19th), the Asia-Pacific will be looking for inspiration from Thailand’s Phichaksn Maichon (23rd) and Singaporean Hiroshi Tai (26th).
“We have a great mix of personalities in our team. There’s a tremendous sense of pride among all the players to be representing their countries and their region is such a prestigious event,” said APGC Chaiman Taimur Hassan Amin of the Asia-Pacific team that includes two players each from Japan, New Zealand and Thailand and one apiece from China, Hong Kong China, India, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.
Only two of the team have past Bonallack Trophy experience with New Zealand’s Joshua Bai and Vietnam’s Nguyen Anh Minh having been part of the line-up in Spain in 2023.
For Anh Minh and Phichaksn, their start to the week was less than ideal.
Anh Minh, who led his country to their first Asia-Pacific Amateur Team Championship title on home soil last October and also won last month’s Malaysian Amateur Open, missed his flight from Hanoi to Dubai due to a mix-up in timings.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever missed a flight,” said Anh Minh, whose arrival in the UAE was delayed by 24 hours. “I won’t do that again,” he added.
While Phichaksn made it to Al Hamra on time after flying from Dallas to Doha, his clubs went missing in transit.
Even though they had still not been delivered by Monday evening, the laidback Thai was typically phlegmatic. “It’s just one of those things,” said Phichaksn, who used a practice set to familiarise himself with the course before his own clubs finally turned up on Tuesday morning.
Narain said: “It’s a credit to Anh Minh and Phichaksn that they’ve taken these setbacks in their stride. Now they’re just eager to get started and make their mark in the Bonallack Trophy.”
