Sport

Darren Clarke is delighted with his EurAsia Cup line-up

Darren Clarke will captain Europe's team in the EurAsia Cup  
Darren Clarke will captain Europe's team in the EurAsia Cup   Darren Clarke will captain Europe's team in the EurAsia Cup  

RACE TO DUBAI runner-up Danny Willett, Victor Dubuisson and Ross Fisher are among the 10 automatic qualifiers to have been announced for Europe's 2016 EurAsia Cup line-up.

Willett finished second behind Rory McIlroy in the 2015 Race to Dubai rankings, from which the top 10 available players go into Darren Clarke's European outfit to take on Jeev Milkha Singh's Asia in Kuala Lumpur in January.

Willett is one of five Englishmen involved, along with 2010 Ryder Cup player Fisher. The others are Chris Wood, Andy Sullivan and Matthew Fitzpatrick, who have all won on the European Tour this year.

They are joined by Offaly's Shane Lowry, France's Dubuisson - part of Europe's 2014 Ryder Cup-winning team - Austrian Bernd Wiesberger, Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark and Sweden's Kristoffer Broberg. Clarke will add his two captain's picks to the final line-up in two weeks' time.

The Dungannon man, who is also Europe's Ryder Cup captain for 2016, said: "I am delighted with the make-up of the team.

"It may be a relatively young one, but it is extremely strong and packed with experience. All the players have tasted success and are very talented, so there is every reason to go to Kuala Lumpur with confidence.

"The EurAsia Cup also offers many of our players the opportunity to enhance their prospects of making next September's Ryder Cup team. It's also a good chance for me to see how comfortable they are with and in a team environment.

"Team Europe have always had a very strong team ethos and I will expect nothing less this time. We know the strength of the Asian side and the difficulty of the task facing us, but I also know our team will be up to the challenge."

Europe's opposition in Malaysia will be finalised next month. The inaugural EurAsia Cup in March 2014 ended in a 10-10 draw.