Royal Trophy more than just a payday

THE CYNICS have already dismissed next weekend's inaugural $1.5 million (€1.2 million) Royal Trophy contest between Asia and Europe as nothing more than another glorified exhibition match.

They say that it is designed to make already wealthy golfers even wealthier and provide the television stations with "live" sport at a time when there isn't a whole lot happening elsewhere.

There may well be some justification for such a jaundiced view, and certainly one doesn't envisage any of the 16 participants or their captains Massy Kuramoto and Seve Ballesteros at the Amata Spring club in Bangkok, Thailand, enduring any sleepless nights should they come out on the wrong end of the scoreline on Sunday.