The 2001
World Golf Championships-World Cup will be held in Shizuoka,
Japan, the International Federation of PGA Tours announced on
Wednesday.
The event comprising two-man teams from 24 nations has been
held each year since 1953, but will debut as a WGC tournament
in December at Buenos Aires Golf Club in Argentina.
Next year's World Cup will be played at the Gotemba Course
at The Taiheiyo Club in recognition of the 100-year anniversary
of golf in Japan.
"We are very proud to be hosting this prestigious
tournament," said Kosaku Shimada, chairman of the Japanese Golf
Tour Organization. "We look forward to the challenge and the
responsibilities that come with hosting a tournament of this
caliber."
The Gotemba Course is considered among the top courses in
the country. It was designed by Shunsuke Kato, one of Japan's
leading golf architects, and offers views of Mt. Fuji from all
areas of the course.
The Taiheiyo Club has hosted the Taiheiyo Masters since
1977. Past winners include three-time champion Lee Westwood of
Britain, two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal and Seve
Ballesteros of Spain and Australian Greg Norman.
The World Cup made its only previous Japan appearances in
1957, with the host team winning, and in 1966, when Jack
Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer teamed for a U.S. victory.
This year's World Cup will be the last of four WGC events
played this season. The others are the Match Play Championship,
the NEC Invitational and the American Express Championship.
The World Golf Championships are sanctioned and organized
by the International Federation of PGA Tours, which includes
the Asian PGA, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA Tour, PGA
Tour of Australia and Southern Africa Tour.
