Darren Clarke leans on Ryder Cup stalwarts

Darren Clarke will put his captaincy skills to the test in this weekend’s EurAsia Cup before he tries to lead Europe to an eighth Ryder Cup victory in the last 10 contests in October.

Clarke insists the clash with the United States at Hazeltine will be at the back of his mind when his side take on Asia in Kuala Lumpur, although the parallels between the two events are hard to escape.

Ryder Cup talisman Ian Poulter, one of Clarke’s two wild cards, will partner Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger in Friday’s opening fourball match against Anirban Lahiri and Korea’s Jeunghun Wang.