2009 Volvo world match-play championship

groups and draw announced

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY I M G
The groups and matches for the ‘round-robin’ stage of the 16-man Volvo world match-play championship are announced below with the players competing in a new format at Finca Cortesin, Spain from this Thursday (October 29) to Sunday (November 1).
Colin Montgomerie, the 2010 European Ryder Cup captain, commented:
“Seeing the final draw totally justifies Volvo’s decision to change to the group format. There really are some tantalising match-ups and it is going to be a thoroughly entertaining week for all the spectators.
"I am delighted that Volvo’s inaugural year partnering the world match-play championship has attracted such a world-class field with their refreshed qualifying criteria. I am thoroughly looking forward to seeing how some of these intriguing match-ups unfold.
"This will be very interesting viewing for me with my Ryder Cup hat on but as anyone who knows me will suspect, a big part of me will be wishing I was out there as one of the 16 qualified players!”
The 16-man field is grouped based on their seeding as determined by today’s Official World Golf Ranking. On Thursday and Friday each player will play their group members in a round robin format over full 18-hole matches with points awarded based upon a win, tie or loss.
The leading player (the one with the most points) from each group will qualify for the semi-final knock-out stage with aggregate number of holes won used to determine tied positions.
The winner of each group will qualify for Saturday's semi-finals which, along with the final on Sunday, will be played over 36 holes in the traditional head-to-head match play format.
The semi-finals will be contested between the winner of Groups A & B and C & D.
The Groups are:
A - Paul Casey (seeded No 1), Retief Goosen, Anthony Kim, Scott Strange.
B - Sergio Garcia (seeded No 4), Martin Kaymer, Robert Allenby, Oliver Wilson.
C - Henrik Stenson (seeded No 3), Rory McIlroy, Angel Cabrera, Simon Dyson.
D - Lee Westwood (seeded No 2), Camilo Villegas, Ross Fisher, Jeev Milkha Singh.

Group ties:

THURSDAY MORNING
Paul CASEY v Scott STRANGE
Retief GOOSEN v Anthony KIM
Sergio GARCIA v Oliver WILSON
Martin KAYMER v Robert ALLENBY
Henrik STENSON v Simon DYSON
Rory McILROY v Angel CABRERA
Lee WESTWOOD v Jeev Milkha SINGH
Camilo VILLEGAS v Ross FISHER
THURSDAY AFTERNOON
CASEY v KIM
GOOSEN v STRANGE
GARCIA v ALLENBY
KAYMER v WILSON

FRIDAY MORNING
STENSON v CABRERA
McILROY v DYSON
WESTWOOD v FISHER
VILLEGAS v SINGH
CASEY v GOOSEN
KIM v STRANGE
GARCIA v KAYMER
ALLENBY v WILSON
FRIDAY AFTERNOON
STENSON v McILROY
CABRERA v DYSON
WESTWOOD v VILLEGAS
FISHER v SINGH

The total prize money for the 2009 Volvo world match-play championship will be €3,250,000.

1st: €750,000
2nd: €450,000
3rd: €250,000
4th: €200,000
Runner up in group: €150,000
3rd in Group: €130,000
4th in Group: €120,000

This is the 45th edition of the world match-play championship and will be Volvo’s first time as championship partners with IMG, having hosted the 21st and final Volvo Masters at Club de Golf Valderrama in 2008. The Finca Cortesín event is Volvo’s 120th title sponsorship in professional golf.
The championship is being held in Spain for the first time in its history, moving from Wentworth Club to the magnificent 7,439yd course at Finca Cortesin, designed by Cabell B Robinson.