world cup of golf

World Cup of Golf
November 26-29
Mission Hills, China

Twenty-eight nations are competing in China at the Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen, for the coveted prize of the World Cup of Golf. Maybe not one of the more illustrious dates in the golfing calendar amongst the majors, this tournament has been held every year since 1953 (with the exception of two years). The top 18 players from different nations are eligible (though not all the top ranked players choose to play) and those eighteen pick an eligible teammate. The host nation gets a free pass obviously into the tournament, and then nine qualified nations who came through qualifiers take part.

The format of the competition, takes place over four rounds of stroke play. The tournament alternates rounds of four-ball and foursome plays for the two-man teams representing their nations. It was Ireland who raced out to a strong first round lead, the duo of Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy shooting a wonderful 58 at 14 under par. That round put them three strokes ahead of the second placed Argentinians who finished on 11 under. Wales (Stephen Dodd and Jamie Donaldson) and England (Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher) both finished with rounds of 66 to tie in tenth position. Scotland’s David Drysdale and Alastair Forsyth finished in last position on 3 under.

Ireland’s McIlroy is one of the in form players in the world at the moment, and it is no surprise that he is out leading the pack. He finished second in the overall earning rankings of the European PGA this year and will put up a strong challenge for the World Cup. England’s pairing of Ross Fisher and Ian Poulter, who were both within a whisper of taking the Race to Dubai title (formerly the Order of Merit) as they, along with McIlroy all had a chance in the final Tour tournament in Dubai to take the crown, which eventually went to Lee Westwood.

Statistically speaking, the US have won the most world cups, in nothing short of a phonically dominant manner. A United States pairing has won the World Cup 23 times, and the next nation closest to them is South Africa, who have won the title five times. England, Ireland and Wales have all won the tournament twice in its history. Sweden were last year’s winners and the same pairing are back to defend their crown.

Current Leaderboard After Round 1
1) Ireland 58, -14 under par
2) Argentina 61, -11 under par
3) Japan 62, -10 under par
4) Italy, Canada, Korea, Sweden 64, -8 under par
….
10) Wales, England, Denmark, Singapore, Germany 66, -6 under par
…
15) New Zealand, France, Thailand, Venezeuala, Chinese-Taipei, USA, India 67, -5 under par

World Cup Outright Winner
Ireland – 8/11 at Paddy Power
Sweden – 8/1 at Extrabet
England – 16/1 at 888Sport
Italy – 16/1 at 888Sport
Japan – 18/1 at 888Sport
South Africa – 40/1 at ExtraBet