28 nations to contest original World Cup Trophy at Mission Hills

One of the most distinctive trophies in professional golf will be raised aloft for the first time in eight years in November when 28 nations contest the Omega Mission Hills World Cup in China.

Weighing a formidable 82 kilos and standing 56cms tall and 61cms wide, the trophy which began life in 1953 as the Canada Cup, will be presented to the 2007 champions at Mission Hills Golf Club on November 25 after four days of world class team competition.

The World Cup Trophy with the heads of The International Federation of PGA Tours

The return of the World Cup trophy to active service was endorsed by the International Federation of PGA Tours at Carnoustie in Scotland during The 136th Open Championship. Since 2000, the trophy has been housed at the World Golf Hall of Fame in Florida. It will be on display during the OMEGA European Masters in Switzerland in September before taking up residence at its new, permanent home, Mission Hills Golf Club, in time for the Omega Mission Hills World Cup.

Pictured above with the impressive trophy are (left to right): Johan Immelman, Commissioner, Sunshine Tour; Tim Finchem, Commissioner, US PGA Tour; George O’Grady, Chief Executive, The European Tour; Ben Sellenger, CEO, PGA Tour of Australasia; Kosaku Shimada, Chairman, Japan Golf Tour and Kyi Hla Han, Executive Chairman, Asian Tour.

The original World Cup of Golf was the brainchild of the late Canadian industrialist and founder of the International Golf Association (IGA), John Jay Hopkins, who donated the Canada Cup for competition among two-man teams representing their countries.

Argentina, represented by Antonio Cerda and 1967 Open Champion, Roberto de Vicenzo, defeated six other countries to capture the inaugural World Cup at Beaconsfield Golf Club in Montreal in 1953.

Since then, it has grown into one of the most prestigious world team events in golf, played on some of the finest courses and has fostered strong bonds between the different nationalities over the past 54 years.

Many great partnerships from the past and present have had their names inscribed on the famous trophy – Peter Thomson and Kel Nagle; Ben Hogan and Sam Snead; Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer; Fred Couples and Davis Love III in four consecutive years and the popular Irish pairing of Padraig Harrington, The 2007 Open Champion, and Paul McGinley. Other great champions such as Seve Ballesteros, Ernie Els, Bernhard Langer and Tiger Woods have won the event twice with different partners.

Since the year 2000, when the event became part of the World Golf Championships series, World Number One, Tiger Woods, has been successful twice, with David Duval and Mark O’Meara while Els and Retief Goosen were also victorious.

Woods and his close friend O’Meara were, in fact, the last partnership to accept the original trophy on behalf of the United States at the Mines Resort & Golf Club in Malaysia in 1999.

George O’Grady, on behalf of the International Federation of PGA Tours, said: “This wonderful trophy has become synonymous with great partnerships over the past 54 years. Fortunately, given the weight of the trophy, there will be two players ready and able to accept it as the 2007 winners of the Omega Mission Hills World Cup in November! All of us in the International Federation of PGA Tours are delighted that the trophy has once again been reunited with an event of the calibre of the Omega Mission Hills World Cup.”

For the 2007 Omega Mission Hills World Cup the leading 18 available players, each native-born citizens of different countries, from the Official World Golf Ranking on Monday September 3 will qualify. These 18 players will select a player of their choosing from the same country provided each player is ranked in the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking on September 3. Ten countries from the World Qualifying Competitions to be held from September 27-30 will complete the field of 28 nations competing for the first prize of US$1,650,000 from a total prize fund of US$5,000,000.

The 2007 Omega Mission Hills World Cup will launch a new and exciting era in the history of the event first played in 1953 as the Canada Cup. The event is set to continue through 2018, and most probably beyond, at Mission Hills following the signing of an agreement, which brought the prestige watch manufacturer Omega together with the Club, which introduced international golf to China by hosting the World Cup in 1995.

The International Federation of PGA Tours will, as custodians, oversee the 53rd edition of the event as it unfolds less than one year before the staging in Beijing of the Olympic Games at which Omega has a unique role as Official Timekeeper.

August 30, 2007

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