Field set for ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf

Tournament officials have announced the finalized field for the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club from November 21-24 which includes recent Presidents Cup participants like Australians Adam Scott and Jason Day, Matt Kuchar and Bill Haas of the United States, South Africans Branden Grace and Richard Sterne, Zimbabwe’s Brendon de Jonge and Argentina’s Angel Cabrera. Also included in the field are worldwide top names like Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez, Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell and Shane Lowry, Sweden’s Jonas Blixt and Peter Hanson, Matteo Manassero and Francesco Molinari of Italy, Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa and Hideto Tanihara and South Korea’s Sang-Moon Bae and K.J. Choi.

First played in 1953, the World Cup is one of the oldest and most prestigious global golf team events in the world inviting two man teams from 28 nations to represent their country. The 2013 World Cup will be the 57th staging of this event, which has seen all of the greats of the game lift the prestigious trophy. The list of champions from the World Cup reads like a who’s who of golf. Great names such as Snead, Hogan, Nicklaus, Palmer, Trevino, Faldo, Ballesteros, Langer, Woods, Els and Montgomerie have all been able to call themselves World Cup Champions.

“The ISPS Handa World Cup represents the historic traditions and the global reach of our great game,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. “As we look forward to the 2016 Olympic Games, the ISPS Handa World Cup of golf will bring goodwill and golf’s competitive spirit to one of the great sporting event areas of the world in Melbourne, Australia. The event’s stature and prestige is matched by the highly regarded, highly challenging and equally breathtaking venue at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.”

The field represents 34 countries, 74 PGA TOUR victories, 31 European Tour champions, 11 players who have played in the Presidents Cup and seven players with Ryder Cup experience.

The field for the 2013 ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf is based on a similar system of eligibility and format to that which will be utilized when golf makes its Olympic debut in 2016.  The following provides an overview of the changes as well as general information on the event:

•        The event is primarily an individual stroke-play competition, although it will also retain its traditional team component in a concurrent competition playing for the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf.

•        Players within the top-15 on the Official World Golf Ranking gain access to the event, except that there will be no more than four players from any country.

•        Beyond the top-15, up to 2 players per country (for those countries not already having 2 or more players as a result of the top-15 category) gain access to the event until the field of 60 players is filled.

•        The proposed format would differ slightly from that which will be used in the Olympic Games in a couple of ways.  First, there are no current plans for the Olympics to include a team competition.  Second, the countries of England, Scotland and Wales will participate as separate teams in the World Cup competition (as opposed to in the Olympics where Great Britain fields a team). As has been tradition since the inception of the World Cup, players from Ireland and Northern Ireland will continue to compete together as one team representing Ireland.

•        There will no longer be any regional qualifying for the World Cup as was the case with the previous format.  Eligibility will be based solely on the Official World Golf Ranking.

•        Final eligibility was determined using the Official World Golf Ranking issued Monday, September 23.  The commitment deadline for the event was Friday, October 4.

Tickets to witness the ISPS HANDA World Cup are on sale now from www.ticketmaster.com.au.

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