It’s a special week for golf. The 2016 European Tour season has ended and normal service is temporarily stopped as we have some team golf on offer. As we saw at The Ryder Cup in Hazeltine earlier this year, team golf is great fun and it brings an extra twist of excitement to the sport we love. What do you need to know about this week’s ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf? All Square has you covered!
When and where is it being played?
The ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf will be held at Kingston Heath from 24th-27th November. It will be played out over Kingston Heath Golf Club near Melbourne, Australia. Find out more about the course on All Square.
What is the format?
This year’s format will be true team golf and goes back to the format used in 2011. Days 1 and 3 are foursomes (alternate shot) while days 2 and 4 are fourballs (best individual score on each hole).
How do countries pick who plays?
The highest-ranked player from each nation is the team captain. He then gets to pick his playing partner. This will make for some great team chemistry and should add a lot of fun to the competition. It also gives lesser-known players a chance to shine and win some big money!
How much do the winners get?
The winning team will share $2.56 million between them and the total tournament purse is $8 million. This should definitely lead to some nervy moments!
Top 3 teams to watch?
Well as hosts and defending champions, Team Australia are definitely a force to be reckoned with. They line-up with Adam Scott and Marc Leishman. The former is the owner of a green jacket and the latter played Olympic golf this year and is always proud to represent the green and gold of Australia. Team USA go with Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker both Ryder Cup regulars and Fowler is also an Olympian. Team Japan have the highest ranked player in the field with Hideki Matsuyama (world number 6) captaining alongside Ryo Ishikawa, they will be ones to watch too.
Are there any other strong contenders?
Team Spain line up with Rafael Cabrera-Bello and Jon Rahm, a powerful pair of golfers who have both had great years on their respective tours, expect fireworks here! Team Denmark are an interesting duo with Søren Kjeldsen and Thorbjørn Olesen whilst Team Belgium have gone with Ryder Cup sensation Thomas Pieters and Nicolas Colsaerts. Look out for Team Sweden’s Alex Noren, who is in great form at the moment and his partner David Lingmerth, and finally Team France could be the dark horses of the field with Victor Dubuisson and Romain Langasque who are both in fine form!
