Kuala Lumpur, March 31 (IANS): After the astounding success of the inaugural EurAsia Cup golf, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak Monday announced that the biennial competition will take place here in 2016 and 2018.

With its future secured, European captain Miguel Angel Jiménez, Irish professional Graeme McDowell, Asian captain Thongchai Jaidee and India's Gaganjeet Bhullar were among the first to offer their endorsements of the new team event between Asia and Europe.

“It was a great honour for me to be the captain of Europe for the first EurAsia Cup and it is great news that the tournament will be played in Malaysia for the next two editions,” said Jiménez.

Golf professional from Northern Ireland McDowell, the 2010 US Open Champion and a veteran of three Ryder Cups including two European victories, said: “Team golf is very special. It brings players so close together and last week was another perfect example of that. It was very exciting out there and I just hope this event can go from strength-to-strength and really establish itself as a big match."

Thongchai is looking forward to featuring in the EurAsia Cup again in two years’ time after the absorbing first contest.

“I would like to support this tournament. It was a great event and I’m sure it will become bigger and better. We’ve had a great start this week with an amazing match against Europe. I want to play in this event again,” said Thongchai.

Bhullar was thrilled to be part of Asia’s stunning comeback, a feat the young Indian feels has given Asian golf and its players a huge boost of confidence.

“I think this week, representing the whole continent and taking that responsibility was a great, great pleasure. I’m looking forward to qualifying for the EurAsia Cup again in the future as we’ve just had a fantastic first event. The week was huge and you could see that it was a great event," he said.