While the leading 18 nations will take their place in the Omega Mission Hills World Cup automatically, the final ten places in the tournament will be filled by nations who come through two individual qualifying events held respectively in South America and Asia from September 27-30.
The South American qualifying tournament will take place at the Tierra del Sol Golf Club, Aruba, Dutch Caribbean, while the Asian qualifying tournament ?the Fortis International Challenge - will be held at the Kota Permai Golf and Country Club, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The exact number of nations who will qualify from each tournament will be decided when the precise number of nations competing at each event is finalised.
As is the case with the Omega Mission Hills World Cup itself, the stroke play qualifying tournaments will be staged over 72 holes with the first and third days?play consisting of Fourball competition, with the second and fourth days consisting of Foursomes competition.
The 2007 Omega Mission Hills World Cup, to be played on the Olaz醔al Course at Mission Hills Golf Club in China, will feature a first prize of US$1,650,000 from a total prize fund of US$5,000,000 and will launch a new and exciting era in the history of the event first played in 1953.
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.
Many of the leading Asian nations will be on parade. Home team Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore are amongst the top contenders vying for five available spots at Kota Permai Golf and Country Club to compete in the main event.
Malaysia will be represented by a new combination this year.
Airil Rizman, winner of the Pakistan Open on the Asian Tour in January, will represent the country for the first time as a professional where he will partner seasoned campaigner Scots-born Iain Steel, who will be looking to be third time lucky in the qualifier.
The Philippines will be led by Angelo Que while Singapore抯 Lam Chih Bing, fresh from his maiden Major appearance at The Open Championship at Carnoustie, will be eager to qualify for his fourth World Cup appearance alongside the republic抯 Number One and European Tour winner, Mardan Mamat.
Last year, Lam and Mardan clinched top spot in the qualifier in Kuala Lumpur and featured in the World Cup in Barbados.
Kota Permai Golf and Country Club, which is located on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur in Shah Alam, boasts of a top-class course designed by Australian architect Ross Watson. The club has in the past successfully hosted the Volvo Masters of Asia, the season-ending event on the Asian Tour.
This year, Fortis has come forward to title sponsor the qualifying event for the World Cup. Fortis is a global financial services provider specialising in banking and insurance and rated 18 in the Global Fortune 500.
The Qualifier in Malaysia is open to Asian, European and African nations. Two-man teams will converge on Kuala Lumpur to chase the opportunity to challenge title holders Germany and some of the world's best players in China.
For the second consecutive year the South American qualifying tournament will be hosted by Aruba抯 Tierra del Sol Golf Club. The Tour de las Americas, the leading professional golf tour from Latin America and the Caribbean and now an Associate Member of the International Federation of PGA Tours, will conduct the event on behalf of the Federation for the sixth straight season.
With last year抯 memories of Mexico and Jamaica making it to the World Cup still fresh, the windy Tierra del Sol GC is set to challenge the competitors once again. The 6,811 yard par 71 designed by Robert Trent Jones II and open since January 1995, will host the 72 hole qualifier along with the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort.
揟he Nations Cup is one of the most exciting golf events played in our region. We are proud to conduct it once again on behalf of the International Federation of PGA Tours,?said the Tour de las Americas Commissioner Henrique Lavie. 揥e are delighted to return to the Tierra del Sol GC and the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort, which provide great conditions at a world class destination.?
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ABOUT OMEGA
The prestige watch manufacturer Omega was founded in Switzerland in 1848 and since then has continually set the pace in the many fields of watch making, from sports timekeeping and design awards to watches for professional use in space or underwater. Omega is closely associated with a world of achievements including the conquest of space, timekeeping at 22 Olympic Games and numerous precision records as well as the launch in 1999 of the revolutionary Co-Axial calibre, one of the 20th century抯 major innovations in mechanical watch making designed with the English master watchmaker George Daniels. Omega will be Official Timekeeper for the Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Olympic Games.
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ABOUT MISSION HILLS GOLF CLUB, CHINA
Founded in 1994, Mission Hills Golf Club, China, seeks to create 慖nternational Goodwill through Golf.?The Club occupies over 15 square kilometres of land and boasts 12 signature courses designed by golf legends from five different continents. The Jack Nicklaus, Pete Dye, Jos?Maria Olaz醔al, Ernie Els, Nick Faldo, Zhang Lian-Wei, David Leadbetter, Greg Norman, Jumbo Ozaki, Vijay Singh, Annika Sorenstam and David Duval. Each course is reflective of the designers?style, offering unique risk / reward challenges to the player. As a complete golf destination, the Club houses a five star hotel and world class spa and was voted Best Golf Resort in Asia by readers of Asian Golf Monthly in 2006 and Golf Resort of the Year in the Rest of the World category in 2005 by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO). In May 2004, the Club was accredited by the Guinness World RecordsTM as the World抯 Largest Golf Facility, making a name for itself in the world of premier golf through its exceptional ability to deliver an unsurpassed level of service excellence. Mission Hills is the proud venue of the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup for the next consecutive twelve years (2007 ?2018).
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ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL GOLF ASSOCIATION
Established by Canadian industrialist John Jay Hopkins in 1953, the International Golf Association has pursued the mission of "International Goodwill through Golf" for over fifty years. As the owner of the World Cup name, IGA has sanctioned the world's most prestigious international team golf competition throughout six decades. IGA is governed by its Board of Directors, comprised by Chairman Jonathan S. Linen (Advisor to the Chairman, American Express), Deane R. Beman (Former PGA TOUR Commissioner), J. B. McCoy (Retired Chairman, Bank One Corporation) and Bill Souders (Former Executive Vice-President and Director, Xerox Corporation).
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ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF PGA TOURS
The International Federation of PGA Tours, formed in 1996, was created to enhance the competitive structure of professional golf worldwide while preserving the traditions and strengths of the six member Tours. The member Tours are the Asian Tour, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA TOUR, PGA Tour of Australasia and Southern Africa Tour. The Canadian Tour and the Tour de las Americas are Associate Members of the Federation. Three major initiatives were outlined: the formation of the International Federation of PGA Tours; joint sanctioning by the members of the International Federation of PGA Tours of significant competitions for the game's top players; and a structure for a generally accepted worldwide ranking system.
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For further information, contact:
Communications Division
The European Tour
Tel: +44 (0) 1344 840400
Fax: +44 (0) 1344 840444
Email: media@europeantour.com
James Cramer
PGA TOUR
Tel: +1 904 273 3293
Fax: +1 904 273 3582
Email: jcramer@pgatourhq.com
Tracey Robertson
Communications Department
Mission Hills Golf Club
Tel: +86 755 2802 0888 Ext: 36030
Fax: +86 755 2802 5751
Email: traceyrobertson@missionhillsgroup.com
OMEGA
OMEGA International Press Office
Tel: +41 (0) 32 343 92 11
Fax: +41 (0) 32 343 97 15
Email: press@omega.ch |