Leading golfers from the Continents of Europe and Asia will compete in a prestigious new team tournament, The Royal Trophy, to be played at Amata Spring Country Club in Bangkok, Thailand, from January 5-8, 2006.

The Royal Trophy has been sanctioned by the Asian, Japan and European Tours, while five-time Major Champion, Seve Ballesteros of Spain, has been confirmed as Europe's non-playing captain.

Each team will comprise eight players, led by a captain, competing in a series of 16 matches involving foursomes, four-ball and singles. The total prize fund of US$1,500,000 with the winning team sharing $1,000,000 and the losers sharing $500,000.

Ballesteros, whose charisma and competitiveness helped turn The Ryder Cup into the most compelling viewing in world golf, hailed The Royal Trophy as an historic development for the sport.

"Team golf is something very special and incredibly exciting," he said. "Many of the great moments in my career have happened at The Ryder Cup. As a player and captain, these are truly unforgettable moments where you are competing not only for yourself, but also your teammates, your country and for the people of your continent. The feeling of pride is incredible and the tension is unimaginable.

"I'm delighted to captain the European team in this historic first edition of The Royal Trophy. It's a dream come true for me to see Europe and Asia, two continents of tremendous cultural diversity and history, coming together for this tournament.

"The Royal Trophy is a very meaningful development for our sport and I believe it will grow into one of the world's great sporting competitions."

Ballesteros's agreement to lead the European team represents a huge boost to the tournament, according to Lincoln Venancio, Managing Director of event promoter Entertainment Group Limited.

"The potential of The Royal Trophy is immense," said Venancio. "We want to see it become a great competition for European and Asian golfers and fans. We are delighted to have Seve leading the European challenge.

"Team golf is unique, highly competitive and generates great passion, while at the same time highlighting sportsmanship in its purest form. Seve is the epitome of all that. Without question, the European team is in great hands."

Venancio added: "Golf is growing tremendously in Asia. The Asian team will be strong and competitive and is likely to feature players from a number of the major Asian golfing nations and territories such as Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, India and, naturally, the host country Thailand."

The Asian, Japan and European Tours have underlined their support for the tournament by agreeing that six players on each team will be chosen according to each Tour's Order of Merit table and the Official World Golf Ranking, with the two remaining players on each side being captain's picks.

For the Asia team - whose captain is yet to be confirmed - the leading two eligible players on the Official World Golf Ranking on November 7, 2005, will qualify along with the leading two eligible players on the Japan Golf Tour Order of Merit on November 28 and the top two eligible players on the Asian Tour Order of Merit on December 12. The two captain's picks will be determined no later than December 19.

The European team will comprise the top two eligible players on The European Tour Order of Merit on October 31, 2005, and the leading four eligible players on the Official World Golf Ranking on November 7. Ballesteros's picks will be determined by December 19.

"Playing for your country is very special but qualifying to represent your continent is truly a tremendous honour," said Asian Tour Chief Executive Louis Martin. "Without question, our Asian team members will take the responsibility of representing this massive region very seriously and will perform to the very best of their ability. We will benefit from 'home course' advantage and the weather conditions in January in Bangkok should be perfect."

Keith Waters, Director of International Policy for The European Tour, said: "The Ryder Cup has proved to be an enormously successful and competitive competition over the past 20 years and The Royal Trophy has the scope to engender an equally compelling event played in the best traditions of the game.

"The European Tour is delighted to be part of this inaugural match with The 1997 European Ryder Cup Captain, Seve Ballesteros, reprising that role in Bangkok."

Japan Golf Tour Chairman, Kosaku Shimada, added: "We are delighted to support The Royal Trophy - it is fantastic news for Asian golf. Asian players will rise to the challenge of going head to head with Europe's top golfers in a team environment and Asian fans will be treated to an extraordinary tournament played with passion and intensity."

Staging The Royal Trophy will be a major coup for the Amata Spring Country Club, said Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Yau. "The club has been developed according to our vision of building one of the best golf courses in Asia," he said.

"We are delighted to host the first-ever edition Royal Trophy and sincerely believe that fans, whether they are watching the matches live at Amata Spring or on television, will appreciate the challenge that our beautiful and testing course will provide to the greats of European and Asian golf."

Ballesteros stressed that his team would be primed and pumped up for the challenge. "We will have a great team representing Europe," he promised. "This is our pride and competitive spirit on the line."