Shah Alam: Highly rated Nicholas Fung hopes to cause a major upset in the Singles format when he faces an in-form Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain on the final day of the EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM.
Fung and Jimenez will be the first Singles match on Saturday and the young Sabahan will be hoping to inspire his team by claiming a crucial point against the Spaniard at the Glenmarie Golf and Country Club Garden course.
“If I can beat Miguel then my teammates will definitely notice it on the scoreboards. I’m sure that result will motivate them. I’ve seen Miguel play and he isn’t a long hitter but his short game is remarkable. He is very experienced but I’ve played here many times,” said Fung.
The Malaysian wildcard suffered a second successive defeat alongside his partner Gaganjeet Bhullar of India. They were up against Team Europe’s hotshots Graeme McDowell and Jamie Donaldson in the foursomes format.
Fung and Bhullar were two-up after eight holes but slipped back when the young Malaysian missed a short par putt on nine. McDowell and Donaldson then pounced on another mistake by Fung on 13 before going on to win the match 2 and 1.
“My putting let me and my team down today. I’ll be sleeping with my putter tonight! I missed two short putts on nine and 13. I was clearly upset but Gaganjeet kept motivating me so I hope I don’t let my team down tomorrow. We are trailing by four points but anything can happen,” said the 23-year-old Fung.
Major champion McDowell praised Fung and Bhullar for their spirited performance. “We got lucky in the end and the boys were probably favorites playing 13, 14, 15, middle of the fairway but they made some mistakes and thankfully we played solidly and we were able to capitalize.”
Team Europe’s playing captain Jimenez sent friendly taunt to Team Asia’s captain Thongchai Jaidee after the Singles pairings were announced. The three-time Asian Tour number one will face McDowell in the second Singles match on Saturday.
“I told Thongchai, hey, you don’t want to play with me, you are afraid!” laughed Jimenez. “It will be nice playing with Nicholas. All the players are able to make birdies at the end of the day. You need to focus and respect your opponent. That’s the only way you can win a match.”
