2016 World Cup of Golf
Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia will host the 2016 World Cup of Golf. The tournament will run from the 24th November until the 27th November. Twenty-eight countries will compete and each country will consist of a two-man team. The first and third day of competition will be the traditional four-ball play, while the second and fourth days are alternate-shot (this is a return to the 2011 format). Country pride isn’t the only thing on the line. Players will battle it out for an $8 million purse, that includes $2.56 million to the winning pair.
The World Cup of Golf all began back in 1953 in Montreal, Canada under the name International Golf Championship. A year later two Australians by the name of Peter Thompson and Kel Nagle won the first title for Australia. Five years later (1959) they won again. The most recent World Cup of Golf was also won by two Australians. Jason Day and Adam Scott won the 2013 WCG at Royal Melbourne. Unfortunately, we will not see Jason day this year despite him being eligible.
The tournament has been played 57 times in 25 countries. The United States has dominated with 24 wins and 10 runner-up finishes. Australia comes in second with 5 wins and 5 runners-up’s. A large percentage of the United States wins came from four players that included Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Fred Couples and Davis Love.
For those of you who have been lucky enough to play Kingston Heath you would agree that accuracy and strategy over power, are the key ingredients. The course itself is not long but the strategic placement of bunkers make it play longer. The cooler weather should keep the greens at a manageable speed. However, being on the right side of the hole is very important. This tournament should suit the methodical golfers.
Tip: Italy to win - $26 at CrownBet
+ Italy 1st round leader - $23 at CrownBet
Tip: Denmark to win $21 at CrownBet
This year’s tournament seems wide open, below are some of the players, teams and odds.
Australia Adam Scott & Marc Leishman $6.00 at CrownBet
Japan Hideki Matsuyama & Ryo Ishikawa $8.00 at CrownBet
Spain Rafael Cab-Bello & Jon Rahm $9.00 at CrownBet
USA Ricky Fowler & Jimmy Walker $9.00 at CrownBet
Denmark Soren Kjeldsen & Thorbjorn Olesen $21.00 at CrownBet
Sweden Alexander Noren & David Lingmerth $13 at CrownBet
Italy Francesco Molinari & Matteo $26 at CrownBet
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