On Monday, the European Tour, which for some time has appeared in a state of significant malaise, announced a new event that is to be included in the early schedule for next year. The EurAsia Cup, a team matchplay event to be contested between Europe and Asia, is to be held on March 28-30, 2014. 

The inaugural edition will be held at Glenmarie Golf and Country Club in Malaysia, and is sponsored by DRB-HICOM, one of Malaysia’s leading corporations, with ten of Europe’s leading players taking on players from Asia in a format that is similar to the Ryder Cup.

Keith Waters, The European Tour’s Chief Operating Officer and Director of International Policy, said: “We are delighted to announce the inaugural EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM as part of our initial sector of The 2014 European Tour International Schedule, and we are all excited by the prospect of this match-play event between Europe and Asia.”

Captains will be selected in due course by the respective Tours, with Europe selecting the four leading available players from the final Race to Dubai rankings at the conclusion of the 2013 season, and the top four players available from the Official World Golf Ranking on Monday, February 3, 2014, with two captain’s picks completing the ten.

They will take on a Team Asia that will include the four leading available players from the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit at the end of this year, with a further three coming from the World Rankings, and three captain’s picks to complete their side.

However, the term “available” is precisely the reason why this event will ultimately barely register with the public. With the event scheduled to conclude a mere 11 days before the first major of the year, the 78th Masters Tournament, gets underway, the chance of leading players on either side making the effort to travel to Malaysia is remote at best.

Without leading names participating, it will be a match contested between a second-tier of players, which, though it may prove to be entertaining, will hardly win the battle for column inches. At best, it will be fortunate to match the level of interest possessed by the Seve Trophy, a biennial match between Great Britain and Ireland against Continental Europe, and the Royal Trophy that is contested between Europe and Asia.

Wait a moment. That is not a mistake, yes, there is already an existing matchplay tournament contested between Europe and Asia.

The Royal Trophy was established in 2006, with a total of six editions having already taken place, with a seventh to come in China this December. Indeed, I share your bewilderment.

The leadership of the European Tour has increasingly come under pressure from players, and observers alike, for its weakening and inconsistent schedule. Certainly, the Tour has suffered significantly from the continuing economic problems in its previous heartlands, but there is a distinct lack of innovation from the hierarchy of the Tour that was formed in 1972.

It’s obvious to state, but creating an “exciting” matchplay event between Europe and Asia, when one already exists, is hardly a touch of cutting innovation.

Moreover, with the 30-man Nedbank Challenge the other new event to take its place in the 2014 schedule, opportunities and tournaments for the majority of European Tour players are continuing to be squeezed. For lower ranked players in Europe, the number of events continues to decrease, with tournament purses tightened further, and costly trans-continental journeys the only source of potential income. It’s a far cry from their counterparts on the PGA Tour in the United States, who enjoy comparatively lavish careers.

While the comparison between the two Tours may be unfair, it’s one that has to be raised as the gap is widening at an alarming rate. More players than ever before are moving to the United States on a permanent basis, further weakening a European Tour that is scrambling for answers to arrest this decline.

The EurAsia Cup is certainly not an answer, but a development that once again highlights much of the problems that exist on a Tour that is in dire need of rejuvenation.