2011 Omega Mission Hills World Cup Opening Ceremony – Players from Different Cultures Ready to Tee-Off
The opening ceremony of the 2011 Omega Mission Hills World Cup was held at Mission Hills Golf Club, Hainan Island, China.
There are 56 players in 28 teams from different countries that are participating in the 56th World Cup edition for US$7.5 million purse. The prize money in 2009 World Cup was US$5.5 million which has now increased by US$2 million.
The last three editions of the World Cup were held in Shenzhen, China and then moved to Hainan Island, China for the 2011 event.
The inaugural event of the World Cup was played in 1953 and was called as the Canada Cup. Later it was named as World Cup and is the biggest of this type as 28 teams from different countries with different cultures participate in the event.
“The diversity of this field is a testament to the vision of John J Hopkins, the founding father of the World Cup,” said George O’Grady, PGA European Tour’s chief executive, at the opening ceremony of the 2011 event.
“We are confident that this 56th Omega Mission Hills World Cup will be instrumental in the continuing development of the game of golf in China and the perpetuation of the events overriding purpose – international goodwill through golf,” added Jonathan Linen,
the World Cup organizing board of the International Golf Association’s chairman.
The event will be played in foursomes and four-ball formats. Four-ball will be played on the initial two days where the best score of each player will be counted. The other two days are scheduled for the foursomes match plays where the team of two players
will use one ball and both the players in the team will take alternate shots to finish the holes.
Edoardo Molinari and Francesco Molinari will are the defending champions who won the World Cup in 2009 and for the first time ever by Italian team.
According to the golf experts, the favourites for the 2011 Omega Mission Hills World Cup are Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell from Ireland, Justin Rose and Ian Poulter from England and the South African pair of Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel.