The heritage, history and tradition of golf’s World Cup, in conjunction with the drive and energy of Omega and Mission Hills Golf Club in China, can restore the event to a prime position on the global calendar.
That was the message from the leading dignitaries at a Press Conference on the opening day of the Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club in Switzerland, as the build-up to the 2007 Omega Mission Hills World Cup from November 22-25 began in earnest.
By Friday, September 14, the 18 exempt nations will be confirmed while the remaining countries in the 28-team event will be finalised after two qualifying tournaments in Asia and Latin America from September 27-30.
The World Cup has been won in the past by many of the greatest names in the game, including Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo and, in 2006, Bernhard Langer. Now the challenge is to ensure that the revitalised Omega Mission Hills World Cup regains its pre-eminent position over the next 12 years of the new agreement.
Stephen Urquhart, the President of Omega, unveiled the event’s new logo and slogan – ‘For the Honour’ – before a packed conference in Crans-Sur-Sierre and declared the universal desire to see this great event flourish.
He said: “This is not just another golf tournament. This is something very, very special. The history and heritage of the World Cup is huge and in Mission Hills and The European Tour we saw we had found a tournament where Omega could speak for the world with an international brand and really convey the message worldwide of a very unique tournament.”
He continued: “We will take the format that exists and work on all aspects of the structure and really make it into a world class tournament with the help of all the International Federations of PGA Tours and, of course, Mission Hills.
“We have a TV contract outside China to broadcast to 264 million households plus full coverage on national TV in China, so it will be the most universally shown event in a long time. We have a very ambitious programme and we will do everything in our power to make it into the Number One international golfing event in the world, living up to our slogan: ‘For the Honour’”.
Dr David Chu, the Group Chairman of Mission Hills Golf Club, joined the chorus by commenting: “This is a very special day for the Omega Mission Hills World Cup. Twelve years ago, Mission Hills hosted the World Cup and we are proud to have Omega as the title sponsor in bringing back the World Cup for another 12 years and more to China.
“By working closely with the International Federation of PGA Tours and Omega, we will have 80 per cent population reach for TV broadcast in China. This will encourage mass participation of the game.”
The 7400 yard Olazábal Course at Mission Hills Golf Club will host the event for the foreseeable future, and European Tour Chief Executive George O’Grady believes that, in time, the World Cup will be one of golf’s larger than life events.
O’Grady said that there will be a “programmed assault” to work on the heritage and honour of representing a country in the World Cup along with the long term commitment of Mission Hills, the Chinese Government and Omega.
He said: “We will have people working on the leading players to convince them of the history, tradition and the wish to win for your country. It’s not going to be achieved in year one but if you look at who has won it in the past, all the great players’ names are there. We are all aware that it’s a very competitive market place, the world of professional golf. It isn’t going to happen in the first year, but we believe it’s going happen over time.”
Henrique Lavie, the Commissioner of the Tour de las Americas – the newest Associate Member of the Federation – has experience of playing in the World Cup at Mission Hills. He recalled: I was honoured to represent Venezuela in 1995 and it was simply the greatest experience.
“We played with Darren Clarke and Philip Walton on the first day and China on the third day. There were 20,000 people round the first tee. There was hardly room to swing the club and I was nervous. But that was part of the experience of playing in the World Cup. It was wonderful to be involved then and wonderful for our Tour to be involved this time. The honour of playing for this trophy means a lot of everyone playing in the World Cup.”
