Euro Tour admits EurAsia Cup launch a ‘mistake’

The European Tour has admitted launching the EurAsia Cup was a “mistake” and are seeking to end the row with the organisers of the rival Royal Trophy that will not see them “lose too much face”.

That is according to co-managing director of the Royal Trophy Ivan Ballesteros, who has been involved in a bitter dispute with the European and Asian Tours over the EurAsia Cup, which began in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

In response, the European Tour said it regretted the comments made by Ballesteros and that it had previously supported the Royal Trophy by releasing players to take part, while stressing that it has the full support of the Seve Ballesteros Foundation and has raised more than £1.2million for it since 2010.

The row has developed because the EurAsia Cup is in direct competition with the Royal Trophy, another team contest between Asia and Europe played since 2006 that was the brainchild of the late Seve Ballesteros.

The Royal Trophy was initially approved by European Tour officials but business relations between the Tour and Ballesteros’ family firm, Amen Corner, have since deteriorated badly.

Ballesteros’ family were furious that European Tour chief executive George O’Grady claimed Ballesteros would have “cherished” the new contest, releasing a letter from the five-time major winner to the Asian Tour – sent in 2010, a year before his death from brain cancer – urging them not to copy the Royal Trophy.

In a statement released yesterday, Seve’s nephew Ivan Ballesteros said: “We understand that the European Tour is in a very difficult position now because they know that the launch of the EurAsia Cup was a mistake.

“The European Tour has actually confirmed this in writing and verbally. If the European Tour is agreeable to it, we would be glad to release the respective documents to the media,” he added.