After Day 2, Asian team requires just two and a half points to win the Trophy for the second time.The Indo-Korean pair today held on to their one-hole lead even as all four birdied the final hole here at the Black Mountain Golf Club.
At no point did the Asians trail in the match. They went one-up on the fourth as Kim, the 2010 Japan Golf Tour Order of Merit winner, birdied the hole. Another birdie from Kim won them the seventh hole, but Stenson's birdie on the eighth reduced the lead.
A par from Kim won the Asian duo the 12th and gave them a two-hole lead. They gave up a hole 16th but held on to that slender lead as all four had birdies on 18th.At the end of the day, Jeev was a relieved man.
"It was much better today," he said.He birdied three of the four-par-five hole, but in this highly intense competition, each of the four players birdied three par-fives each.
For Europe, the loss of captain and experienced Colin Montgomerie and Rhys Davies at the hands of Asians Noh Seung Yul and Liang Wenchong, who closed the match on the 14th was a big disappointment.
The 19-year-old Noh and Liang had nine birdies between them and it meant one of the heaviest defeats for Montgomerie in his matchplay career.
Japanese star Ryo Ishikawa, who has won nine times in Japan, combined well with buddy Shunsuke Sonoda to beat the Italian teenager Matteo Manassero and Pablo Martin of Spain. Ishikawa sank some amazing putts to cruise through to a 3&2 win.
Former Asian Tour number one Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand, whose pairing with Jeev Milkha Singh was broken, also came back strongly. Jaidee played with Japan's Yuta Ikeda, a four-time winner on the Japan Tour in 2010. They had 14 birdies between as they won 3 & 1 over Peter Hanson and Fredrik Andersson.
Jeev, who had declared himself fit less than 24 hours before the start of the tournament, said, "Things were much better on the second day. On the first day, physically, I felt fine before and after the round.
"It was more of an issue with rustiness, and you kind of expect that after not hitting a ball for five weeks, especially in a format like Foursomes when you are only hitting every other shot."
He further added, "You know, I've never won a Foursomes match in the Royal Trophy. My record is much better in Four-balls and Singles."
And he was proved right. He has won in fourballs and now the singles remain.
One of the big decisions taken by Asian coach Joe Ozaki was to re-shuffle his pairings. He eased the pressure on Jeev for the Four-balls. He split up the Jeev-Jaidee partnership after they were beaten 7&5 by Sweden's Peter Hanson and Fredrik Andersson Hed.
Ozaki stressed that it was a positive move, designed to take the spotlight off his player, who was clearly rusty after a six week lay-off due to a back injury.
"I always intended that the winning pairs should stay the way they did. I changed up the other two pairs because I noticed that Thongchai had a lot of Thai supporters and I didn't want that to add to the pressure that Jeev is under," he explained.
Results:
Day 2: (Asian team names first) Noh S/L Wenchong beat C Montgomerie/R Davies 5&4, R Ishikawa/S Sonoda beat M Manassero/P Martin 3&2; Kim KT/Jeev Singh beat J Edfors/H Stenson 1 up; Y Ikeda/T Jaidee beat P Hanson/Andersson Hed 3&1. Asia leads 6-2