World Cup to be held every two years on

Hainan Island, southern China

The Omega Mission Hills World Cup will return to the international golfing calendar in 2011 as a biennial event – staged in every odd year – with a record prize fund of US$7,500,000 at a brand new venue in the Mission Hills Resort on Hainan Island in Southern China from November 24-27 next year.
This was announced today by the International Federation of PGA Tours, the International Golf Association, Omega and Mission Hills.
The re-positioning of the Omega Mission Hills World Cup, which has been played at Mission Hills Shenzhen, China, between 2007 and 2009, as a biennial event follows last year’s decision by the International Olympic Committee to re-introduce golf to the Olympic movement from 2016.
By playing the event in alternate years from 2011, the World Cup is aligned with many of the major sports in the Olympic movement, such as the World Athletics Championships, which are contested biennially and are not in any potential conflict with the summer and winter Olympic Games.
However, the Olympic golf tournament will be staged as an individual competition, whereas the Omega Mission Hills World Cup remains the only team event in the men’s professional game where players can proudly represent their own countries, thus maintaining its status as the oldest international team event in professional golf.
In 2011, the Omega Mission Hills World Cup will be among the richest events in world golf, with prize money for the 28 team competition increasing from US$5,500,000 in 2009 to a record US$7,500,000 when the event makes its debut at the newly opened Mission Hills Resort Hainan.
Next year’s winning team will earn US$2,400,000 - US$1,200,000 to each player - which is $350,000 more than last year’s winners. The new prize fund elevates the 2011 Omega Mission Hills World Cup right up alongside the Major Championships and the World Golf Championships.
The format for the contest will remain unchanged, with two series of foursomes and two series of fourballs on alternative days, which has the capacity to create huge swings in fortune and adding to the drama and excitement of the event.
The Omega Mission Hills World Cup will be hosted on the Blackstone course, a spectacular, 350-acre lay-out that weaves through a striking landscape of mature trees, expansive wetlands, ancient town ruins and ever-present lava rock.
The 7,777-yard Blackstone features a myriad of risk / reward opportunities throughout the back nine. The course is set in front of the 525-room 5-star resort complex and the 238,000 square-feet clubhouse, making it ideal for hosting the world’s foremost golf tournaments.
Stephen Urquhart, President of Omega, said: “In addition to finding a coherent strategy in relation to the Olympics, one of the main reasons for making the World Cup of Golf a biennial event is that it should give all the Federations involved a better opportunity to send their best teams to represent their country. We are confident that we can make important inroads in our primary objective which is to re-establish the World Cup of Golf in its rightful position.”