Oct 4, 2016: The 2016 World Cup of Golf will mark the fifth time in the tournament’s history that it will be played in Australia and the first at any course other than Royal Melbourne.
A victory for the United States in the Ryder Cup, highlighted by dramatic and sensational performances from both teams, showcased the best of what makes match play thrilling for the best players in golf. Fans have only a select few opportunities to see Ryder Cup participants like Rickie Fowler, Jimmy Walker, Thomas Pieters, Danny Willett, Lee Westwood and Rafa Cabrera Bello square off in team match play, and the World Cup of Golf allows fans the opportunity to witness the format in a prestigious competition.
Tournament officials reiterated that tickets are currently on sale to this year’s event that includes a field with diverse accomplishments and backgrounds who will make up the 28 two-man teams which will descend on Melbourne, Australia, to represent their native countries in the World Cup of Golf at Kingston Heath Golf Club from November 23-27.
Fowler defeated England’s Justin Rose in a pivotal match during Sunday’s singles matches as part of the USA’s 17-11 win. Fowler, along with Phil Mickelson, defeated Rory McIlroy and Andy Sullivan in the Friday morning foursomes matches. However, Mickelson and Fowler were later defeated by McIlroy and Pieters in Saturday foursomes. Walker was slightly less successful with a 1-2 record losing his singles match to Spaniard Cabrera Bello, a fellow World Cup of Golf participant, 3&2.
On the European side, Belgium’s Thomas Pieters became the highest-scoring Ryder Cup rookie of all time on the European side with a 4-1 record. After losing in Friday foursomes, Pieters was on the winning side of each of his matches defeating Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar in the Friday fourballs, Fowler and Mickelson 4&2 in the Saturday foursomes and Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson on Saturday afternoon – all paired with Rory McIlroy. Pieters then won his singles match against J.B. Holmes, 3&2. Pieters will be teamed with Nicolas Colsaerts at the upcoming World Cup of Golf.
From one Ryder Cup rookie to another, Cabrera Bello also went undefeated with a 2-0-1 record, including an epic comeback with Sergio Garcia against Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth as well as a dominant singles match against Walker. Cabrera Bello will be teamed with an up-and-coming Ryder Cup hopeful in Jon Rahm.
Danny Willett and Lee Westwood, who will team together to represent England at the World Cup of Golf, each went winless at the Ryder Cup despite playing solid golf at different times during the event. Willett and Westwood were even paired together on Saturday afternoon for the fourballs. While they were defeated on the last hole by Ryan Moore and J.B. Holmes, the experience of playing fourballs together is one they can draw upon in November.
“We love seeing the emotion and competitive spirit that team match play brings to golf,” said Executive Director Matt Kamienski. “We can’t wait to see the high fives and raw emotion when the 28 teams compete here in Melbourne for one of golf’s most historic titles. Fans should get their tickets now to reserve their spot to see the drama and excitement unfold.”
The 2016 tournament will return to a 72-hole, stroke play, two-man team event format. The first and third days of competition will be the foursomes (alternate shot) format and the second and final days are fourball (best ball) play.
Tickets and hospitality packages starting at $30 are now available by visiting the World Cup of Golf website at www.WorldCupofGolf.com.
Previous World Cup of Golf events in Australia:
Year Winning Country/Players
1959 Australia (Peter Thomson/Kel Nagle)
1972 Chinese Taipei (Hsieh Min-Nan/Lu Liang-Huan)
1988 United States (Ben Crenshaw/Mark McCumber)
2013 Australia (Jason Day/Adam Scott)
Asian Tour Release
