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 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 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.
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’s 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 aims to create ‘International Goodwill through Golf’. Covering 15 square kilometres, it boasts 12 signature courses designed by golf legends from five continents. Jack Nicklaus, Pete Dye, José Maria Olazábal, Ernie Els, Nick Faldo, Zhang Lian-Wei, David Leadbetter, Greg Norman, Jumbo Ozaki, Vijay Singh, Annika Sorenstam and David Duval have all created uniquely challenging golf courses that reflect their own personal style, to ensure ultimate enjoyment. 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).
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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.
