Gary Woodland and Matt Kuchar produced a nerveless final round to lift the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup for the USA on Sunday (27 November).

The Americans carded a five-under-par 67 in the final round foursomes to finish on 24-under for the tournament – two shots ahead of Germany and fast-finishing England.

Irish duo Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell, who started the day two shots clear, struggled to an even-par 72 to finish joint third on 21-under.

On a day of tension at Mission Hills in Haikou, China, it was Woodland and Kuchar who excelled in the alternate-shot format.

“This feels great,” said an ecstatic Woodland. “It’s been a nice week and we’ve been treated very well here. We came here hoping to have some fun but we set a goal to win and that’s what we’ve done.

“It was an honour to represent our country and to play well and come out on top is a bonus.”

Kuchar echoed those sentiments. “To put our name on the World Cup trophy alongside some of those great names is just an honour,” he said.

“We have been treated so well here, it has been a fantastic week. It’s a long way from home and a different culture but we have certainly been made to feel very welcome. I hope Gary and I can come back and defend the title in a couple of years.”

It was the USA’s first triumph in the World Cup of Golf since Tiger Woods and David Duval lifted the trophy in 2000.

The day began with five Major winners featuring in the top four teams as the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup threatened to turn into an all-star shootout.

In addition to McIlroy and McDowell – respectively the 2011 and 2010 US Open champions, South Africa boasted reigning Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and 2010 British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen.

Germany, with 2010 PGA Championship winner Martin Kaymer paired with Alex Cejka, were also in the hunt.

But it was Kuchar and Woodland who seized the initiative with four birdies on the front nine to take a two-shot lead.

A bogey on the 11th coupled with a birdie for Ireland on the 10th briefly brought the two teams level, but the Americans birdied 12 and 13 and were never caught.

“We played phenomenal golf, especially today,” said Woodland. “It’s a tough format and both of us picked each other up when the other one got in trouble. We got off to a hot start and really we were not in trouble on the back nine at all. It was a good day.”

Kuchar, the world No.10, paid tribute to his playing partner. “When I got selected to represent the United States, I also got to choose my partner and I thought that if I picked the right player, I’d have a real shot at winning.

“So I chose Gary, thinking that he would team up well with me, and he played fantastic this week. I have no doubt that he was the best player in the field. I’m fortunate that I picked him.”

Germany – with Kaymer and Cejka teaming up for the fourth successive time in the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup – were a threat all day but could not find enough birdies, producing just three in a round of 69.

Kaymer refused to be downhearted. “It was a great week,” he said. “This was our best result [as a duo] at the World Cup. I think we were not the favourites coming into the week, but we showed again that we play well together.

“Alex played fantastic golf today, so that kept us up there. I didn’t have a good day. He saved a lot of good putts, a lot of good chips. He played proper golf today and I struggled a little bit.

“I look forward to the next few years because if I could have played a little better today, I think we would have had a good chance to win.”

Cejka added: “Of course, we were fighting all the way to the end. It was just one of those days and this is the way it goes sometimes. Overall, we are very happy with the way we played all four days.”

Star English duo Ian Poulter and Justin Rose roared up the leaderboard with a stunning 63 that included an eagle at the par-four 16th. But both admitted they had left themselves too much to do after the first three rounds.

“We were a little subdued last night,” revealed Poulter. “I don’t think either of us was much company. We stayed in our own rooms and rightly so. It was disappointing to shoot only four-under in the fourballs yesterday, so to go and shoot nine-under in the foursomes is crazy.”

Rose added: “I felt like today was about coming out and playing for pride. You always have pride when you are playing for your country but it was also about restoring individual pride in ourselves.

“Both fourball days were uncharacteristic for us, and today was fun. We gelled and finally got the right rhythm and right intensity and I think when we do get that, we match up really, really well. It was just a case of too little, too late.”

For McIlroy and McDowell, it was another disappointing end to an OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup after they finished joint second behind Italy in the previous edition of the tournament in 2009.

“We just didn’t have it out there today,” said McDowell. “We’re disappointed, of course, but this is a high quality golf tournament. The USA have played fantastic, England have played phenomenally well. That was the high standard that we had to live up to today and we just didn’t do it.”

Australia (69), Scotland (66) and the Netherlands (68) all finished joint third with Ireland. South Africa, meanwhile, endured a torrid day, returning a 74 to end up 12th.

A total of 28 nations took part in the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup. The 2011 tournament marked the fourth occasion that OMEGA, the Swiss maker of prestige watches, had been title sponsor of the World Cup of Golf.

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Dutch golfers Robert-Jan Derksen and Joost Luiten were winners off the course at the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup when they triumphed in the OMEGA Watchmaking Challenge.

The fun competition required teams taking part in the World Cup to disassemble and assemble parts of an OMEGA watch movement as quickly as possible under the supervision of an OMEGA master watchmaker.

The Dutch duo showed that a keen eye and steady hands are essential not only for golf as they quickly adapted to the watchmaking craft.

Derksen took apart the movement and Luiten put it back together in a total time of one minute and 52 seconds.

That was nine seconds faster than Welsh duo Rhys Davies and Jamie Donaldson with French players Raphaël Jacquelin and Grégory Bourdy a further two seconds back in third.

The competition drew crowds of interested spectators to the OMEGA Boutique in the Tented Village at the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup, which is being held at Mission Hills Resort in Haikou, China, from 24-27 November.

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Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell will take a two-shot lead into the final round of the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup as they bid to lift the trophy for Ireland.

The star duo returned an eight-under-par 64 in the fourballs on Saturday (26 November) to reach 21-under for the tournament.

Giving chase at Mission Hills Resort in Haikou, China, are the heavyweight trio of Germany, South Africa and the USA who are all at 19-under.

Ireland – starting the day as joint leaders with Australia – began with birdies on five of the first seven holes and picked up three more shots on the back nine.

“It was a solid day,” said McDowell. “We are right where we want to be going into tomorrow, but we know there are some great teams and great players up there.

“We are both playing lovely. I managed to heat up my putter today and made a few, so we are very excited about tomorrow.”

McIlroy paid tribute to his teammate. “I was just lucky enough that Graeme played very, very well today and held a lot of great putts,” he said. “You know, I was a spectator for the majority of the round, but it was good.”

The pair are looking to lift the trophy after finishing joint runners-up to Italy in the last staging of the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup two years ago.

“It would be incredible just to add your name to the list of players and countries that have won this tournament,” said McIlroy.

“When you see the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead – there you have two American teams that feature four of the best players ever to play the game. So to be able to put your name on a trophy like that would be very special.”

Germany and South Africa were the day’s big movers as they each returned 11-under 61s.

Martin Kaymer, the 2010 PGA Championship winner, fired seven birdies for Germany with compatriot Alex Cejka notching four as they roared up the leaderboard.

“We played very well together,” said Kaymer. “We made lots of birdies and always on different holes. I played very well today but, obviously, you can only play well and be aggressive if you have a partner who is playing very consistent and is always there for you.”

South Africa’s star pair of reigning Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and 2010 British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen birdied four holes in a row from the 14th to move right into contention.

Schwartzel put their display down to an improvement on the greens. “The first two days, we really struggled with putting,” he admitted.

“Then today, the first few holes we didn’t make any putts, but from the seventh we made three birdies in a row and suddenly we felt like we were back to our normal selves. Now we have a good chance going into tomorrow and it’s always an honour to play for your country.”

The USA pairing of Gary Woodland and Matt Kuchar recovered from a rare bogey at the par-five second to share 10 birdies in a 63.

They were buoyed by a superb save from Kuchar on the 18th when he pitched to within inches of the pin from off the green after Woodland had put his approach into the water. “It looked like I was in trouble after my second shot but made a nice up-and-down to save a stroke there,” said Kuchar.

Woodland added: “That was a huge upanddown from Matt and hopefully it will give us a lot more momentum going into tomorrow.”

Australia’s Brendan Jones and Richard Green are three off the pace on 18-under after a 67. And Dutch duo Robert-Jan Derksen and Joost Luiten moved into the reckoning with a 64 to reach 17-under.

Twenty-eight nations are chasing glory at the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup, which is being held from 24-27 November.

The 2011 tournament marks the fourth occasion that OMEGA, the Swiss maker of prestige watches, has been title sponsor of the World Cup of Golf.

The tournament finishes on Sunday with the final-round foursomes.

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Star Irish duo Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell showed their Major-winning talents as they moved into a share of the lead on the second day of the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup on Friday (25 November).

The pair fired a four-under-par 68 in the foursomes to join Australian duo Brendan Jones and Richard Green on 13-under.

Ireland and Australia lead by one shot from Scotland heading into the weekend at Mission Hills Resort in Haikou, China.

Ireland mixed six birdies and two bogeys in the alternate shot format as world No.2 McIlroy and McDowell – his predecessor as US Open champion – found their form.

“I think both of us are very pleased about the score that we ended up shooting today,” said McIlroy. “Anything in the 60s in the foursomes format is a very reasonable score.

“There is still a lot of golf to be played this week so it will be nice to get out there again tomorrow and enjoy the fourballs. We’ll aim to be aggressive and make a few more birdies.”

McDowell said his partner’s putting had been a crucial factor in the round. “I’ve struggled a little bit on the greens the last couple of days,” he admitted.

“But I was happy the way I swung the club in general today and Rory is playing lovely. He really putted well today, which kept things together.”

McIlroy and McDowell are looking to lift the trophy after finishing joint runners-up to Italy in the last staging of the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup two years ago.

Jones and Green had started the day two shots clear of the field but bogeyed the final hole for a 70 to fall back level with Ireland.

“It was a bit of a shame finish with that bogey but 18 is a very demanding hole,” said Green. “Hopefully we can work it out for the weekend and not do that on Sunday.

“We spoke about our strategy last night and we decided that anything under par in this format is going to do all right. So a 70 today achieved that goal.”

Jones revealed the difficulties of adapting to the alternate shot format. “It’s hard to get any sort of rhythm in your swing because you might go four or five holes without hitting a driver, you might go a few holes without having a putt, so it feels like a very stop-start game,” he said.

“We handled it very well early. We are pretty happy with two-under and we are still tied for the lead, so it’s nice to be in that position.”

Scottish pair Martin Laird and Stephen Gallacher returned a score of 69 and then revealed the planning that had gone into their round.

“The way this course sets up, the person who hits off the odd holes has eight approach shots on the back nine and the other person only has one,” revealed Laird.

“Stephen has been hitting his irons great all week so we decided that he was going to go on the odd holes and it paid off because we had a good round today.”

Spain, New Zealand and the United States all finished the day on 10-under, three shots off the pace, while English duo Ian Poulter and Justin Rose are lurking dangerously after a 69 moved them to nine-under, level with Mexico and the Netherlands.

Chinese pair Liang Wenchong and Zhang Xinjun delighted the home fans with a 68 to reach eight-under, five off the lead.

Twenty-eight nations are chasing glory at the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup, which is being held from 24-27 November.

The 2011 tournament marks the fourth occasion that OMEGA, the Swiss maker of prestige watches, has been title sponsor of the World Cup of Golf.

The tournament continues with the third round on Saturday when the teams will revert to fourballs.

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Australian duo Brendan Jones and Richard Green blazed a trail on day one of the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup on Thursday (24 November) with an 11-under 61 in the opening fourballs.

The in-form Aussies fired two eagles and seven birdies at Mission Hills Resort in Haikou, China, to lead by two shots from Ireland and Scotland.

Jones eagled the par-five 12th and Green did likewise at the 16th – a short par-four that gave up four eagles on the day – to maintain the momentum.

“We combined very well today,” said Green. “Brendan obviously started well and that helped me progress with my game on the back nine. I was able to contribute a little bit and get the eagle on the 16th which really helped us at that stage. It was a very, very good day.

“You know, in this game, it’s just a matter of positioning yourself and giving the other guy an opportunity and allowing them to be a little bit more aggressive. We did that well all day.”

Jones said their games had dovetailed perfectly. “We never doubled up on birdies and that’s the key in this game. You want to make a lot of birdies, but you don’t want to make them on the same hole, and that’s what we did.”

The duo tied for third at the 2008 OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup when the tournament was played at Mission Hills in Shenzhen and Jones said they were relishing being back together.

“When you’re playing with somebody who you think is a very good player, it lifts your game as well. I hit the ball a little bit longer than Richard while he’s a very good putter. I think that’s why we gel so well, because we both have confidence in each other.”

Both Australians are making their first visit to Hainan island. “What we have seen so far is fantastic,” said Green. “The golf course is beautiful and the hotel and resort are amazing.

“We do a lot of travelling around the world and see a lot of golf courses in a lot of great places and Mission Hills is certainly a very nice place to be.”

Irish duo Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell – joint runners-up to Italy at the last OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup two years ago – were happy with their nine-under 63.

Reigning US Open champion McIlroy led the way with an eagle on the four-five sixth and five birdies before McDowell birdied 14 and 17.

“I thought it was a very solid opening day,” said McIlroy. “We sort of set a target of 8 to 10-under and we managed to shoot something around that, so it puts us in a great position going into the next three days.

“The fourballs this week are where you’re going to make most of your birdies as the foursomes is a more demanding format. Both players need to be on their games to shoot a low score. It was a good start but we know we still have got a tough job ahead of us.”

Scottish pair Martin Laird and Stephen Gallacher matched Ireland, with the highlight of their round coming on the 16th where Laird chipped in for an eagle.

“That was nice,” reflected Laird. “That was the only hole all day where one of us had to pick up. I got a little lucky with my pitch going in, but you’ll always take that.”

A further shot back on eight-under were Dutch duo Joost Luiten and Robert-Jan Derksen and the USA pairing of Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland.

Italian brothers Edoardo and Francesco Molinari finished the day in joint 19th place on five-under while Liang Wenchong and Zhang Xinjun, carrying the hopes of host nation China, were on four-under.

Twenty-eight nations are chasing glory at the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup, which is being held from 24-27 November.

The 2011 tournament marks the fourth occasion that OMEGA, the Swiss maker of prestige watches, has been title sponsor of the World Cup of Golf.

The tournament continues with the second round on Friday with the teams playing foursomes.

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Released on behalf of OMEGA by Two Up Front – Asia’s sports PR specialists.

Two Up Front © 2011

Twenty-eight nations are ready to chase glory at the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup after the tournament began in style with a spectacular opening ceremony today (23 November).

Players, officials from world golf’s leading organisations, local dignitaries and other VIPs took part in the ceremony at Mission Hills Resort in Haikou, China.

The 2011 tournament – to be held from 24-27 November – marks the fourth occasion that OMEGA, the Swiss maker of prestige watches, has been title sponsor of the World Cup of Golf.

The stellar field features five Major winners including current Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and US Open title holder Rory McIlroy.

Schwartzel will form a strong pairing for South Africa with 2010 British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen while McIlroy and his predecessor as US Open champion Graeme McDowell will team up again for Ireland.

Italian brothers Edoardo and Francesco Molinari are back to defend the title they won at Mission Hills in Shenzhen in 2009.

“We have great memories of two years ago and, obviously, it feels very good to be back, even if it’s a different venue, said Francesco Molinari. “We both remember very well the emotions of that week and we will try our best to repeat it this year.”

McIlroy and McDowell finished in a share of second place two years ago and McDowell admitted it would be tough to improve on that result this time around.

“There are some great teams here this week,” he said. “When you’ve got a great sponsor like OMEGA who do some great things for golf around the world, then it’s good to see teams supporting this event.

“When you look at the flags at the back of the range and see some of the guys who have won it, like Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, then it puts in perspective what kind of event this is.”

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After almost two months of intense competition, the inaugural Ageas Corporate Golf League has been won by the aptly named Talent2.

The recruitment solution and managed services firm held off a strong challenge from The Henley Group to be crowned champions of Hong Kong’s first inter-companies indoor golf competition.

Talent2 captured a maximum nine points on the seventh and final night of play at City Links Golf Lounge in The Centrium, Wyndham Street, Central.

The winners – comprising main duo Caleb Baker and Matt Bristow plus Neil Robertson, George Vincent and Brian Pemberton – finished top of the overall standings with 49 points. The Henley Group settled for second on 44.5 points while HSBC were third on 40 points.

As well as lifting the “War on Wyndham” trophy, Talent2 were given a HK$20,000 cheque to donate to a charity of their choice – in this case Room to Read (www.roomtoread.org), a global organisation seeking to transform the lives of millions of children in the developing world through a focus on literacy and gender equality in education.

The team also won a golf weekend for two to Bangkok from Golfasian.com, including two rounds of golf, two nights accommodation and round-trip airfares.

“The first Ageas Corporate Golf League has been a huge success, with some thrilling but friendly competition and plenty of fun along the way,” said Angela Yam, Head of Branding, Marketing and Communication, Ageas Insurance Company (Asia) Limited.

“We offer our sincere congratulations to Talent2, who have proved themselves worthy champions, and our thanks go to all the competing teams who contributed so much to the tournament.”

The Ageas Corporate Golf League, which began in mid-April, was played on Full Swing Golf’s E6 golf simulation software using the Fourball Better Ball format.

A total of eight teams – limited to two players but with substitutes allowed each week – played seven of the world’s most famous courses: Kapalua Plantation, Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill, The Belfry, Valderrama, the “home of golf” St Andrews and Torrey Pines.

“Hong Kong’s first downtown corporate golf competition has proved very popular with the city’s golf-loving executive set and we’ve had an entertaining two months,” said Rajah Chaudhry, Director, City Links Golf Lounge.

“We are very grateful to Ageas for their generous support and our other sponsors and partners, Golfasian.com, San Miguel, Mission Hills and HK Golfer magazine.”

Ageas already sponsors the Hong Kong PGA Championship – the territory’s flagship tournament for locally-based professionals which this year was won by French golfing icon Jean Van de Velde.

In addition, the company supports many other sports and charity events such as FCBEscola – the soccer school run by Spanish giants Barcelona – the Matilda Sedan Chair Race and the Oxfam Trailwalker.

The second Ageas Corporate Golf League is scheduled to begin in October. Companies interested in taking part should contact Kim Inglis, Director of Golf, City Links Golf Lounge, on 2522 6366 or send an email to kim.inglis@citylinksgolf.com.

About Ageas

Ageas is an international insurance company with a heritage spanning more than 180 years. Ranked among the top 20 insurance companies in Europe, Ageas has chosen to concentrate its business activities in Europe and Asia, which together make up the largest share of the global insurance market. They are grouped around four segments: Belgium, United Kingdom, Continental Europe and Asia. It is an undisputed leader in the Belgian market for individual life and employee benefits, as well as a leading non-life player, through AG Insurance. Internationally Ageas has a strong presence in the UK, where it is the second largest player in private car insurance. The company also has subsidiaries in France, Germany and Hong Kong. Ageas has a track record in developing partnerships with strong financial institutions and key distributors in different markets around the world and successfully operates partnerships in Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal, China, Malaysia, India and Thailand. Ageas employs more than 13,000 people and has annual inflows of almost EUR 18 billion.

About City Links Golf Lounge

City Links Golf Lounge, established in November 2009, is Hong Kong’s first and only indoor golf lounge. Housing four state-of-the-art golf simulators and a fully-stocked bar, City Links Golf Lounge is a unique multi-purpose entertainment venue ideal for private functions and parties, client entertainment evenings, press conferences, business lunches, seminars, product launches and corporate golf outings. Golf instruction and a range of membership options are available to the avid golfer wanting to improve their game using the golf industries most advanced simulation technology. For more information on City Links Golf Lounge, please contact Kim Inglis at 2522 6366 or email: kim.inglis@citylinksgolf.com.

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After becoming the first world No.1 to play in Korea and the first to win the Ballantine’s Championship, Lee Westwood would like to be the first player to retain the trophy.

“Yes, I’d like to come back,” confirmed Westwood after his dramatic victory at Blackstone Golf Club near Seoul on Sunday. “I always try to defend a tournament.”

The English star triumphed by one shot over Spanish veteran Miguel Ángel Jiménez to underline his status as the world’s best player.

He is the first world No.1 to win the Ballantine’s Championship after victories by Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell in 2008, Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee in 2009 and Marcus Fraser of Australia 12 months ago.

And he had a special word of praise for the Korean galleries who turned out in large numbers to cheer on the players.

“The fans were great, very supportive, and it just shows the keenness of the Korean public to come out and watch the players they’ve seen on TV playing in other parts of the world,” said Westwood.

Sunday marked the day the €2.2 million Ballantine’s Championship came of age.

After the first three editions of the tournament were played on the Korean holiday island of Jeju, organisers moved the event to just outside Seoul and were rewarded with large galleries and a duel between the world No.1 and one of golf’s great characters.

It ended when Jiménez’s 14-foot birdie putt at the last slid past the hole, leaving Westwood the winner by a single shot. It was his second victory in a row following his success in the previous week’s Indonesian Masters.

Also “leaving an impression” on the 2011 tournament were Korean challenger Park Sang Hyun, who delighted the home fans with an eagle at the last to finish third, and American star Dustin Johnson – making his competitive debut in Asia – who was fourth.

“The 2011 Ballantine’s Championship has been a huge success for us and on behalf of everyone at Ballantine’s I’d like to congratulate world No.1 Lee Westwood for his truly impressive win,” said Christian Porta, Chairman and CEO of Chivas Brothers, owner of Ballantine’s.

“The stunning course proved an exciting challenge for our strongest field yet and Lee mastered it beautifully.

“The exceptionally high level of competition between the world’s best players and Korean’s rising stars was testament to the way in which our tournament has gone from strength to strength. Our aim was to step up a level in our fourth year and we certainly achieved this at Blackstone Golf Club.

“Ballantine’s is proud of its golf heritage and continues to be committed to international golf in the long-term. We look forward to staging Korea’s premier golf event again next year.”

About Ballantine’s

Ballantine’s is the No.1 ultra-premium whisky in Asia Pacific and the No.1 Scotch whisky in Europe, selling over 70 million bottles a year worldwide. Ballantine’s has won over 80 trophies and medals at international competitions in the past 10 years for quality as a result of its unique richness of character and perfect balance. The range, from Ballantine’s Finest to the iconic 30 Year Old, is the most extensive in the world of Scotch and is maintained by the latest in a tradition of master blenders that dates back to 1827.

• Ballantine’s has been title sponsor of the Ballantine’s Championship since 2008 and has committed to the event until 2013 – please visit www.ballantineschampionship.com
• Ballantine’s has been an official sponsor of the Barclay’s Scottish Open since 2007
• The first Ballantine’s sponsored golf tournament was played in 1960 at Wentworth Golf Club, England

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