Injured Yang Yong-eun leads Asians to Day 2 victory in Royal Trophy

BANDER SERI BEGAWAN, BRUNEI — Korean duo of Yang Yong-eun and Kim Kyung-tae led the way in Day Two of the Royal Trophy golf tournament, Saturday, as the Asians come out firing on all cylinders to dominate the second session 3-1, winning two of the matches and claiming a half point in each of the other two.

Given the seemingly hopeless position at the end of the first day’s Foursomes — they trailed 3 1/2 – 1/2, now they head into Sunday’s singles just one point adrift at 4 1/2 – 3 1/2 at the Empire Hotel and Country Club in Brunei.

Yang Yong-eun and Kim Kyung-tae beat Sweden’s Henrik Stenson and Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano up 2 holes with 1 remaining and ending the contest at Hole 17.

All that in spite of the fact Yang was receiving treatment before play started for a muscle injury in his lower back.

The Korean duo made a sensational start to this match, with 2009 USPGA champ Yang holing his second shot from 135 yards with a knock-down nine iron, to record the first eagle of the competition.

“We could not have had a better start. Holing my second shot on the first hole probably gave a lift to the whole Asian Team,” Yang said after the game.

Yang showed no signs of discomfort from his back injury, as he added four successive birdies to play the first five holes in six under par.

He rolled in a forty footer for a winning birdie on Hole 4. Does it get any better than this? That is when Kim holed his second shot on the ninth. Yang and Kim played the front nine in ten under par.

The Korean pair was five up at that stage. But the Stenson and Fernandez-Castano came roaring back, winning four holes out of six to trim the deficit to just one.

It was going to take something special to halt the European charge, and Kim produced it with a glorious approach to the 17th for the birdie that gave Asia their first full point.

“Kim played great. He was exceptional today, and when he holed his approach on two we could not believe we had both done it on the same day. We have played together a lot in Japan and Korea and we get on very well together. It got a bit tight and a bit nervous towards the end, but Kim’s shot to 17 was a great way to finish it. It was a good day for us all,” Yang said.

Team Asia’s third Korean player, Bae Sang-moon, and partner Wu Ashun faced two of the faced formidable opponents in Nicolas Colsaerts and Marcel Siem.

And they rose to the challenge, both hitting it close on the opening hole to set up the first of three birdies that took them two up after four holes.

For most of the front nine, Colsearts played the Asian duo by himself, with Siem frequently taking one hand off the club as he watched his ball sail way off target.

But the German star settled into his groove just before the turn, and when he holed from 12 feet on the Hole Eight it signaled a game-changing run of four birdies in a row.

It was all square with six to go, only for the Korean-Chinese pair to carve a two-hole lead with winning birdies in the 13th and 14th.

Colsaerts had the last word, showing the brilliance that marked his triumphant Ryder Cup debut. He conjured up a brilliant winning birdie on the final hole after Siem had pulled one back on 15.

Jeev Milkha Singh was hailed as a star of India by the spectators on the course at The Empire treating him to a rousing chorus of “Happy Birthday.” Singh and partner Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thaliand halved against Europe’s Player-Captain, Jose Maria Olazabal, and fellow Spanish great Miguel Angel Jimenez.

All Japanese duo Yoshinori Fujimoto and Ryo Ishikawa beat Italian brothers Edoardo and Francesco Molinari up 3 holes with 1 remaining.

The Japan-Italy clash resulted in one point for the Asian team though, at the start of the day, one might be hard pressed to imagine defeat for the Molinari brothers, World Cup winners and battle-hardened Ryder Cup performers.

And it did not start well for Naomichi “Joe” Ozaki’s players as Ishikawa missed a chance to make it four wins out of four on the opening hole for Asia.

He looked in disbelief as his five footer for a birdie shaved the left edge of the cup.

Edoardo suffered a similar fate on the third, but Francesco’s magnificent tee shot on the short fourth hole meant but it was Europe who struck the first blow. Ishikawa hit back with a stunning approach to the fifth, but the Molinaris captured the Hole 8 and Hole 9 with birdies. However, the expected victory surge did not materialize.

Instead, Fujimoto pulled a shot back at the tenth and Ishikawa made it all square at the 12th before landing the crucial blow by sinking a nine footer for an eagle on the 15th after reaching the green with two huge hits, the first eagle so far on a par five.

Tomorrow’s final singles match up will decide everything. The games are in the following order:

Bae Sang-moon vs. Jose Maria Olazabal; Kiradech Aphibarnrat vs. Nicolas Colsaerts; K.T.Kim Kyung-tae vs. Gonzalo Fernadez-Castano; Yoshinori Fujimoto vs. Marcel Siem;Wu Ashun vs. Edoardo Molinari; Jeev Milkha Singh vs. Miguel Angel Jimenez; Ryo Ishikawa vs. Henrik Stenson; Yang Yong-eun vs. Francesco Molinari.

By Philip Iglauer (ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)