Details on the Royal Trophy, the principal award for the Europe vs Asia professional golf competition graciously donated by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, were released today.

The fifteen kilogram silver trophy, one of the heaviest in the world of sport, was commissioned for production to Mr. Choosak Visanukamron, one of Thailand 's most well-known artists with over 30 years of artistic experience. His brief was to develop a beautiful and meaningful trophy that would stand the test of time and communicate the international nature of golf while engraving a strong element of Thai heritage perpetually symbolizing the historic fact that the first five editions of the Event will be held in the Kingdom of Thailand .

“I am very honored for having been selected to develop the Royal Trophy. This was clearly a difficult assignment but also a great and very important responsibility for me. The Royal Trophy is the perpetual center piece of what these great players from Europe and Asia will fiercely compete for and it has been donated by His Majesty the King. I feel very proud”, added Mr. Visanukamron.

The special Trophy which is engraved with the following words - “Donated by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand”, carries an added historic meaning as it will be presented for the first time at the very beginning of 2006, the year in which the Thai people commemorate the Sixtieth Anniversary of His Majesty's Accession to the Throne. The Trophy features the Royal Emblem of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the top front.

The Royal Trophy is presently displayed at the center of the Amata Spring Country Club clubhouse inside a purpose-built 2.5 meter tall wooden and glass “trophy case”. It will be presented to the winning team on Sunday January 8 immediately upon conclusion of the matches. The winning continent earns stewardship over the Trophy until the next edition of the competition.

An Asian Team win will ensure that the Trophy remains at Amata Spring Country Club while if Europe defeats the Asians, it is likely that European Team Captain Seve Ballesteros will take the Royal Trophy to Spain .

“I know that the competition for the Royal Trophy will be very fierce as we are all competing for the pride of our continents and people but I have no doubt in my mind that Asian Captain Kuramoto and I will ensure that the Tournament is played in the very best traditions of our sport. We all know that this is not a normal golf tournament; we will be making history” said Spanish golfing legend Ballesteros.
“The fact that it weights fifteen kilos appropriately illustrates the fact that a “team effort” is required to “lift it”, not just one individual. We have great players in our team, we can count on great experience and on some of the hottest players of today. We will play as a team and we will do all we can to “lift” the Royal Trophy”.