Two Qualifying Tournaments Will Finalise the Field for the Omega Mission Hills World Cup
The South American qualifying tournament – the Nations Cup - will take place at the Tierra del Sol Golf Club, Aruba, Dutch Caribbean, while the Asian qualifying tournament – the Fortis International Challenge - will be held at the Kota Permai Golf and Country Club, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
As is the case with the Omega Mission Hills World Cup itself, the stroke play qualifying tournaments will be staged over 72 holes with the first and third days’ play consisting of Fourball competition, with the second and fourth days consisting of Foursomes competition.
The 2007 Omega Mission Hills World Cup, to be played on the Olazábal Course at Mission Hills Golf Club in China, will feature a first prize of US$1,650,000 from a total prize fund of US$5,000,000 and will launch a new and exciting era in the history of the event first played in 1953.
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.
Many of the leading Asian nations will be on parade. Home team Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore are amongst the top contenders vying for a minimum of four available spots at Kota Permai Golf and Country Club to compete in the main event.
Malaysia will be represented by a new combination this year. Airil Rizman, winner of the Pakistan Open on the Asian Tour in January, will represent the country for the first time as a professional where he will partner seasoned campaigner Scots-born Iain Steel, who will be looking to be third time lucky in the qualifier.
The Philippines will be led by Angelo Que while Singapore’s Lam Chih Bing, fresh from his maiden Major appearance at The Open Championship at Carnoustie, will be eager to qualify for his fourth World Cup appearance alongside the republic’s Number One and European Tour winner, Mardan Mamat.
Last year, Lam and Mardan clinched top spot in the qualifier in Kuala Lumpur and featured in the World Cup in Barbados.
Kota Permai Golf and Country Club, which is located on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur in Shah Alam, boasts of a top-class course designed by Australian architect Ross Watson. The club has in the past successfully hosted the Volvo Masters of Asia, the season-ending event on the Asian Tour.
This year, Fortis has come forward to title sponsor the qualifying event for the Omega Mission Hills World Cup. Fortis is a global financial services provider specialising in banking and insurance and rated 18 in the Global Fortune 500.
The Qualifier in Malaysia is open to Asian, European and African nations. Two-man teams will converge on Kuala Lumpur to chase the opportunity to challenge the world's best players in China.
For the second consecutive year the South American qualifying tournament will be hosted by Aruba’s Tierra del Sol Golf Club. The Tour de las Americas, the leading professional golf tour from Latin America and the Caribbean and now an Associate Member of the International Federation of PGA Tours, will conduct the event on behalf of the Federation for the sixth straight season.
With last year’s memories of Mexico and Jamaica making it to the World Cup still fresh, the windy Tierra del Sol GC is set to challenge the competitors once again. The 6,811 yard par 71 designed by Robert Trent Jones II and open since January 1995, will host the 72 hole qualifier along with the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort.
“The Nations Cup is one of the most exciting golf events played in our region. We are proud to conduct it once again on behalf of the International Federation of PGA Tours,” said the Tour de las Americas Commissioner Henrique Lavie. “We are delighted to return to the Tierra del Sol GC and the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort, which provide great conditions at a world class destination.”