The International Federation of PGA Tours and the International Golf Association (IGA) have announced that they have entered into an agreement whereby the World Cup of Golf will become the fourth event in the World Golf Championships.
The World Cup, under its new auspices, will be played on December 7-10, 2000, at the Buenos Aires Golf Club in Argentina.
The International Golf Association, the organisation that has operated the World Cup since 1953, entered into an agreement with the Federation last year whereby the Federation sanctioned the World Cup of Golf as the fourth World Golf Championships event. As a World Golf Championships event, the Federation will re-stage and promote the World Cup as the team component of the elite series of World Golf Championships events. Additionally, the eligibility and format will be revised.
Two-teams representing 24 countries will be eligible or will qualify for the World Cup. Eighteen teams will be composed of top players from the Official World Golf Ranking and six teams will qualify via qualifying competitions. The revised format for the World Cup will include four days of play, with two days of Foursomes and two days of Fourball, which is consistent with the team format used in the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup.
The World Cup of Golf has been a forerunner in the development of golf on a global basis. It has travelled to 23 countries.
The United States have won the World Cup 21 times, and Australia and Spain each have four wins. In 1997 Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley linked to win the World Cup for Ireland for a second time, and England (David Carter and Nick Faldo) won in 1998.
“The World Cup of Golf has held an esteemed position within the golf world for decades,” PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said on behalf of the Federation. “It has done as much to promote golf around the world as any event in sport. We are delighted the World Cup has joined the World Golf Championships.”
“The IGA is very pleased,” said Jonathan Linen, Chairman of the IGA. “The World Championship Series will carry on the long-standing traditions of the World Cup of Golf. The affiliation with the World Golf Championships will raise the event to a new level and add many more chapters to the World Cup’s storied past.”
The purse for the 2000 World Cup is $3 million. The winning team will split $1 million.
Sites for the 2001 and 2002 World Cup will be announced in the future as will the umbrella sponsor.
The World Golf Championships are a series of events launched in February 1999, that feature the game’s players competing against one another in a variety of formats. The World Cup joins the Andersen Consulting Match Play, NEC Invitational and American Express Championship in the World Golf Championships line-up. The events rotate through a variety of outstanding venues worldwide.
