Harrington & McGinley team up for World Cup

Former winners Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley will represent Ireland at the WGC-World Cup in Portugal in November, the European Tour said on Wednesday.

World number 13 Harrington selected 29th-ranked McGinley to partner him at Victoria Clube de Golfe in Vilamoura from November 17 to 20 when they will attempt to repeat their 1997 victory at Kiawah Island, South Carolina.

Last year, the Irish duo finished third behind champions England and hosts Spain when the World Golf Championships (WGC) team competition was held in Seville.

Under World Cup rules, the leading 18 available players of different nationalities in the world rankings on September 19 automatically qualified their countries for this year's event.

Each of those players can select their partners, as long as they are also ranked in the world's top 100. If that is not possible, the next highest-ranked golfer is offered the spot.

World number one Tiger Woods of the United States and second-ranked Vijay Singh of Fiji have turned down invitations to compete in the fourth and final WGC event of the year. U.S. participation in Portugal is yet to be confirmed.

Other team lineups completed on Wednesday included Spain (Sergio Garcia and Miguel Angel Jimenez), South Africa (Trevor Immelman and Tim Clark), France (Thomas Levet and Raphael Jacquelin) and Sweden (Henrik Stenson and Niclas Fasth).

Paraguay's world number 67 Carlos Franco has said he will play in Portugal with a partner yet to be confirmed.

South Korea's K.J. Choi, who played in the 2002 and 2003 World Cups, will take part again this year. His partner is also yet to be announced.

Hosts Portugal, who will make their World Cup debut, will be represented by Jose-Filippe Lima and Antonio Sobrinho.

Last week, world number 14 Luke Donald chose fellow Ryder Cup player David Howell as his partner for England's title defence.

Donald and Paul Casey earned England a one-shot victory over home favourites Garcia and Jimenez last year after firing an eight-under-par 64 in the last-day foursomes.

The 14 nations confirmed for the 2005 World Cup are: England, South Africa, Spain, Argentina, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, South Korea, Germany, France, Paraguay, Wales, the Netherlands and Portugal.

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