BANGKOK, Thailand (PA) -- Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal will forever be linked for their peerless partnership in the Ryder Cup, Now Olazabal is aiming to win The Royal Trophy this week on behalf of his absent friend.

The Spanish duo formed the most formidable pairing in Ryder Cup history with 11 wins and two halves in 15 matches.

Olazabal is now hoping to emulate Ballesteros' captaincy record as he makes his first foray into leadership in Bangkok.

"Seve has shown through the years how good he was as a player on the golf course and as a captain," said Olazabal. "I'm trying to follow his steps."

Ballesteros was the visionary behind The Royal Trophy -- an annual match-play contest between teams from Europe and Asia -- and was the victorious captain in the first two events, in 2006 and 2007.

However, the 51-year-old Spaniard, who also led Europe to Ryder Cup glory in 1997, will not be attending the third edition of the event -- the 2008 edition was cancelled after a death in the Thai royal family -- after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor in October.

Ballesteros is now recovering from a series of operations at home in northern Spain, so Olazabal has stepped in as European captain for the Ryder Cup-style event, which begins with Friday's foursomes at Amata Spring Country Club.

Olazabal is confident of succeeding Ballesteros as the winning captain and expects his team of Nick Dougherty, Johan Edfors, Niclas Fasth, Soren Hansen, Pablo Larrazabal, Paul Lawrie, Paul McGinley and Oliver Wilson to defeat Naomichi 'Joe' Ozaki's Asian side.

"It's not going to be easy, but with these eight men I'm quite positive we will win this week," he added.

His friend Ballesteros has lent his support and will be observing the competition from afar.

The five-time major winner reiterated his determination to make a full recovery in a letter read by his nephew at the opening ceremony.

"Even though I'm not there today, somehow my heart and my thoughts are there with you," read Ivan Ballesteros, who is a promoter of the event. "I'm at home recovering and working hard every day.

"I will keep fighting and doing all in my heart and in my head to win my most difficult match. I hope I see you again next year, hopefully defending the title once again as captain of the European side."

Olazabal, who was visibly moved as the letter was being read, revealed he has been in regular contact with Ballesteros and that his compatriot's indomitable spirit remains.

"His only instructions were to win," added Olazabal. "I've seen Seve a few times in the last few weeks. He's actually doing very well considering what he has gone through.

"His spirits are very high, he's really working hard at the rehab, he's trying to recover completely and he's getting stronger so he can get chemotherapy treatment and so on," he added. "He's in great spirits, he's thinking of doing things and, as Ivan said, he's aiming to be healthy again and to battle this thing.

"So far the news has been very, very good."

Like Ballesteros, Olazabal, who is troubled by rheumatism, has vowed to return to full health.

Nick Faldo's vice-captain at the 2008 Ryder Cup in Valhalla, Olazabal is a possible candidate for the top job in future. However, ahead of his first tournament as captain, he stressed his priority is to make a playing return.

"I'm just concentrating on this week," he said. "I'm not thinking about the Ryder Cup captaincy at the moment. I'm more concerned about my health. I'm not 100 percent.

"I still have a few things going on but hopefully everything will be clear shortly and I'll be able to play competitive golf again soon," he explained. "The good thing about me being captain is that I'm old enough to have played with most of these guys. I know the players quite well and we've known each other for many years."

Europe won a one-sided contest 12½ to 3½ in 2007, but Ozaki believes his Asian side can win for the first time.

"I was disappointed with the result of the last one, but I want revenge and I want to beat Jose Maria's team very badly," said Ozaki.

Thongchai Jaidee and Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand are joined by Charlie Wi and SK Ho of South Korea, Wen-chong liang of China, and Japan's Ryo Ishikawa, Hideto Tanihara and Toru Taniguchi on the Asian team.

Copyright 2009 PA Sport. All rights reserved.