Belgium make history in Melbourne with first World Cup victory

The attached image of Thomas Pieters (left) and Thomas Detry must be credited to Getty Images and used in conjunction with this release only. Please click on image to download a high-resolution version. Press Release Belgium held off a late challenge from hosts Australia to win the ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf for the first time at The Metropolitan Golf Club. Thomas Detry and Thomas Pieters brought a five-shot advantage into the final foursomes but Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith cut that to just two as the huge crowds at the Sandbelt venue began to get excited about a second Australian win in five years. The Belgians held their nerve over the final three holes, however, to sign for a 68 and finish the week at 23 under, three shots ahead of Australia and Mexican pair Abraham Ancer and Roberto Diaz. Standing on the 18th tee with a two shot lead, Detry produced one of his shots of the week as he thundered a drive down the middle of the fairway to leave his partner a short wedge to the hole. Pieters then turned on the style, planting his approach three feet from the pin to allow Detry to tap-in for birdie and seal an historic victory. Defending champions Søren Kjeldsen and Thorbjørn Olesen closed with a 65 to finish at 17 under as a duo of European Tour Members lifted the World Cup for the eighth time in the last ten editions of the event. BELGIUM QUOTES Thomas Detry:  “We weren't far away in the football World Cup, so it's pretty good to bring it back! Like Thomas said, it's not really something you put on the list, but when it happens, you qualify for it, you play for it, you play with your best mate and it's kind of a dream come true.  There's nothing like representing your country on the other side of the world, it's just amazing. “Our two coaches, one of my two coaches, they both played it a long time ago, but they played it and they had an amazing experience.  Being able to put our name down the list when you see the amount of good players and all the big names that were actually on the cup, it feels pretty special. “I think the key moment today was when Thomas made the putt the tenth for par and the birdie he made on 11, those two putts were massive.  I think that was the key moment because 11 is one of the toughest holes on the course.  Ten, it was a sliding putt, not easy, so we could have easily gone bogey, bogey and we went par, birdie.  After that we slapped a few bogeys in, but we always came back with a birdie, so I think the key moment was definitely ten and 11. “We've known each other since we were 8 or 9 years old.  We used to play those junior events back home.  We kind of grew up together playing regionals, practices together, and then national teams together, under-18, and then he went to college in America and I followed him. “So we've known each other for a long time and like I said earlier, it's a dream come true to play with him.  He's got a lot of experience, it was very comforting for me to play with a guy like that.” Thomas Pieters: “It feels pretty good.  It's not something you put on your list when you're a golfer, but, you know, I felt it this morning and I felt it while we were playing, it's just excitement and a bit of nerves.  You know, I told my mom and dad it's been a long time since I won and this feels as good as an individual title.  I'm very, very happy. “With us bringing this thing back home, I think it will change a bit how kids look at golf and they'll have something to look up to.  We had Nico Colsaerts to look up to.  We never really got in touch with him when we were younger and I think we would have loved it.  He maybe because he had the same coach, but for me it would have been amazing to see him play.  In a couple weeks we're doing a day with all the juniors back home and for me it's fun to do that because I know how much I would have loved it, so that's why we do it.” LEADING FINAL TEAM PLACINGS 265 Belgium 268 Mexico, Australia 271 Canada, Denmark 272 South Korea, Italy 273 England Also (T14) 278 Scotland (Russell Knox, Martin Laird) (T14 with -10 aggregate)

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ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf
Scores after Round 2
  Pos          Team                                                                      Country               R1             R2              R3             R4                      Agg            Par
PAR 144
134 SOUTH KOREA (Byeong Hun AN / Si Woo KIM 62 72)
134 BELGIUM (Thomas PIETERS / Thomas DETRY 63 71)

136 MALAYSIA 136 (Gavin GREEN / Ben LEONG 63 73)
136 ENGLAND 136 (Tyrrell HATTON / Ian POULTER 62 74) 
136 ITALY 136 (Andrea PAVAN / Renato PARATORE 65 71)
136 INDIA 136 (Anirban LAHIRI / Gaganjeet BHULLAR 64 72)

137 MEXICO (Abraham ANCER / Roberto DIAZ 67 70)

138 AUSTRALIA (Marc LEISHMAN / Cameron SMITH 62 76)
138 SCOTLAND (Russell KNOX / Martin LAIRD 67 71)  

139 SWEDEN (Alexander BJÖRK / Joakim LAGERGREN 65 74)
139 FRANCE (Alexander LEVY / Mike LORENZO-VERA 66 73)

140 IRELAND (Shane LOWRY / Paul DUNNE 64 76)
140 DENMARK (Thorbjørn OLESEN / Søren KJELDSEN 63 77)

141 NEW ZEALAND (Ryan FOX / Mark BROWN 65 76)
141 CANADA (Adam HADWIN / Nick A TAYLOR 68 73)
141 FINLAND (Mikko KORHONEN / Mikko ILONEN 66 75)

142 SPAIN (Adrian OTAEGUI / Jorge CAMPILLO 68 74.
142 SOUTH AFRICA (Dylan FRITTELLI / Erik VAN ROOYEN 66 76)
142 CHINA (Haotong LI / Ashun WU 66 76)
142 WALES (Stuart MANLEY / Bradley DREDGE 70 73)

145 UNITED STATES (Kyle STANLEY / Matt KUCHAR 66 79 )
145 THAILAND (Kiradech APHIBARNRAT / Prom MEESAWAT 67 78}
145 JAPAN (Satoshi KODAIRA / Hideto TANIHARA 66 79)

147 VENEZUELA (Jhonattan VEGAS / Joseph NAFFAH 65 82)
149 GERMANY (Martin KAYMER / Maximilian KIEFFER 68 81)
151 NETHERLANDS (Joost LUITEN / Daan HUIZING 69 82)
153 GREECE (Peter KARMIS / Alexander TRANACHER 66 87)

NEWS Release Thomas Detry and Thomas Pieters battled the brutal conditions to move Belgium into a share of the lead with South Korea at the halfway stage of the ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf. With torrential rain and gusting winds sweeping across the Metropolitan Golf Club, the 28-team field could have been forgiven for thinking they were playing in the wrong hemisphere on Friday, with just four teams – Belgium, Italy, Mexico and Scotland - managing to break par in the notoriously tricky foursomes format. Detry and Pieters carded a one under 71, one better than Korea, to join Ben An and Si Woo Kim at the top of the leaderboard on ten under, with four teams – England (74), Italy (71), India (72) and Malaysia (73) – in a tie for third place two shots off the lead. Mexico’s two-under score was the best of the day and propelled Abraham Ancer and Roberto Diaz into seventh spot in seven under, while Scotland’s 71 saw them join host nation Australia on six under in a share of eighth. The tournament switches to four-balls for Saturday’s third round, with the final round moving back to foursomes on Sunday. Player Quotes BELGIUM – Thomas Pieters: “I think we played very solid.  Both of us were pretty much on our games.  The short game was pretty good today.  Thomas holed out great from six, seven feet in and I made some really good recovery bunker shots so we saved ourselves some good pars. "We'll try to do the same on Sunday as we did today, but tomorrow's a whole different game.  We did well yesterday in four-ball, we've just got to get going a bit earlier than we did yesterday and hopefully have another couple good ones.” Thomas Detry: “To be honest, I didn't think we would finish today.  Waking up this morning and getting here, it was just like horizontal rain.  So wind got up, wind didn't drop, so it was just a tough day all around.  Yeah, happy it's done and I'm excited for my shower tonight!” SOUTH KOREA  Ben An: “It's such a tough format with this wind and rain, so I think we did well to shoot under par today. It was a cold day, so it was like just trying to hold on and have some fun .  We tried to stay focused and it's such a tough wind and rain, so it was really -- it was chaos, so I think we kept in the game and never got out of it.

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England joint leaders, Scots T20 after first 

day of Melbourne World Cup

Melbourne, November 22: Ben Leong and Gavin Green flew the Malaysian flag high at the ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf as they signed for an opening nine-under-par 63 to trail by one shot after the first round’s four-ball format on Thursday.

The duo, playing in the World Cup of Golf for the first time, credited their strong teamwork for a strong start as they combined for two eagles and five birdies at The Metropolitan Golf Club in the 28-nation team competition.

Green, the reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit champion, took advantage of his booming drives to nail an eagle on the par-five seventh hole before adding three birdies on holes 10, 13 and 18.

Leong, a one-time Asian Tour winner, overcame a nervy start by contributing an eagle on the par five ninth hole, as well as two birdies on the sixth and 14th holes. He had opened with a double-bogey and a bogey while Green made pars to steady the Malaysian team.

Byeonghun An and Siwoo Kim of South Korea emerged as the highest-ranked Asian team after signing for a 62 to share the lead with Team England’s Tyrrell Hatton and Ian Poulter, as well as Team Australia of Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith.

Green and Leong sit in fourth place alongside Team Belgium (Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry) and Team Denmark (Thorbjørn Olesen and Soren Kjeldsen), who won the first World Cup of Golf for their country, also in Melbourne, two years ago.

The Malaysian duo is part of the six Asian nations in the field hoping to hoist the famous trophy at the US$7 million event, won previously by many legends of the games. They will play alongside Team Australia in the Foursomes (alternate shot) format on Friday.

Scots Martin Laird and Russell Knox ended the first day in a share of 20th place after shooting a 67.

Players’ quotes:

Ben Leong (Malaysia)

It was great, besides the first hole. Having Gavin beside me really calmed me down definitely. It's been great. I guess we did really well today, we timed it really well. The holes he made par, I made birdie. The holes I made bogey, he made par. It's been a great day.

It’s not going to change much for the foursomes tomorrow, I think. Gavin's going to go odd, so we'll see how it goes.  It depends on the weather as well.  

I've played in Perth earlier this year. It's similar, but not quite. I mean, it's great over here. It's great coming back to Australia.

I made an eagle on the par-five nine. I had about 230 yards into the green and I hit a three‑wood there and managed to put it on the green and I made the putt from about 20 feet.

Another highlight of our round was on the eighth hole when Gavin made that 25‑footer for par. That helped to keep the momentum going. Par's a very good score out there really, given the windy conditions today.

We just try to make things easy for each other out there.

Gavin Green (Malaysia)

It was good team golf really. I think it was just solid all around. Started off strong, gave ourselves a couple of looks but didn't drop. Obviously, it started to drop in the middle of the round, so we just kind of stayed patient really. 

The wind was just all over the place, that was the tough part of it today. The last hole I changed clubs because Ben said, you know what, it's a little too much. I clubbed down and it came out perfectly. 

It's a great team golf.  Like he said, the holes I birdied, he didn't birdie, so we always had alternate holes, which we did well on and it is a good thing especially in this format.  We just kind of kept it going, kept it rolling. 

Hit a bunch of fairways, hit a bunch of greens and made some putts, some pretty big putts, so it was huge. I think we both hit fades, so it's easy to see the kind of shots we see.  We got along well and I think it was good. 

He's a little shorter than me and I'm a little longer, so it's always nice to have that little combination on some holes.  I hit 2‑iron, driver or 3‑wood.  I think it's a good thing.  We're looking forward to the next few days. We just want to have fun and do the best we can.

It’s my first time playing a sandbelt course. It's like a mixture of inland golf and links golf. It's a bit of everything in one, which is kind of cool, I think.  I've never seen a golf course like this with that shape of bunkers and how firm it is on the greens but not so much on the fairways. 

If you're in some of those bunkers, you're dead, you have no chance. You kind of have to really, really think that first bounce is kind of big and make sure you're not reaching the other bunker. There are so many bunkers around that you kind of have to be careful. 

The eagle I made on the seventh hole, I hit a big drive and only need a 54-degree for my second shot, hit it to about three feet and made the putt.

We just kept the round going. Some par-threes are just so tough. They're all into the wind and you can't control it. It's all over the place and you just don't know what to do sometimes. Walking away with par, we'll take it every day. Overall, it was a fun day

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2018 World Cup of Golf to be contested at Melbourne's  Metropolitan G C



 

Melbourne, Australia – The United States PGA TOUR, on behalf of the International Federation of PGA Tours, announced today that the 59^th edition of the World Cup of Golf will return to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, with The Metropolitan Golf Club playing host to 28 two-person teams representing their respective countries from November 21-25, 2018.

 

As one of five events co-sanctioned by the International Federation of PGA Tours, the Melbourne World Cup of Golf is a truly global and historic event, which has been played 58 times since 1953 in 25 countries, and is the only event that sees the world’s best come together and compete for their countries, outside of the Olympics.

 

“The World Cup of Golf has been a celebrated and valued tradition in the game for decades, and the International Federation of PGA Tours is proud to see that tradition continue in 2018 with the best players from around the globe convening at The Metropolitan Golf Club,” PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan said. “Golf in the Sandbelt region speaks for itself, and we appreciate The Metropolitan Golf Club opening its doors for this historic team event.”

 

 The 2018 event will continue with the same format from 2016, with the first and third days of competition played as four-ball (best ball) format and the second and final days as foursomes (alternate shot) play.

 

“It is a true thrill to bring this unique, global team-event back to Melbourne and the Sandbelt region,” said Robyn Cooper, Executive Director of the Melbourne World Cup of Golf. “We appreciate the strong cooperation of all involved to ensure Australia’s golf fans would be able to enjoy this spirited team competition in the Sandbelt region. A special thank you goes to Golf Australia and Lagardere for working with us to resolve some scheduling challenges.  The group’s overall combined efforts are certainly in the best interests of golf fans here in Australia.”

 

The Melbourne World Cup of Golf brought significant global star power to the Sandbelt region in 2016, with 17 of the top 50 players in the world on hand, including the likes of Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama, Rickie Fowler, Jimmy Walker, Alex Noren, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Shane Lowry, Byeong Hun An, Russell Knox and more. Players outside the top 50 at the start of the 2016 event that are currently among the top 50 include Jon Rahm (No. 4), Marc Leishman (No. 13) and Jhonattan Vegas (No. 43).

 

The 2018 event will mark the third-consecutive playing of the World Cup of Golf in the Sandbelt region. Danes Søren Kjeldsen and Thorbjørn Olesen captured the 2016 edition at Kingston Heath Golf Club, while Aussies Adam Scott and Jason Day were victorious at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club in 2013. Following the 2018 Melbourne World Cup of Golf, the Sandbelt region will once again grab the spotlight as the 2019 Presidents Cup is staged at Royal Melbourne for a third time. 

 

“We’re getting it done – making Victoria Australia's home of golf by bringing the best domestic and international tournaments right to our doorstep,” John Eren, Minister for Tourism and Major Events, said.

 

“The flow on effects from these types of events are huge – they give visitors another reason to come to Melbourne and make our economy stronger.”  

 

The 2018 Melbourne World Cup of Golf will mark the sixth time in the tournament’s history that it will be played in Australia, which is the second-most all-time behind the United States (11).

 

The World Cup of Golf 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)

2016      Denmark (Søren Kjeldsen/Thorbjørn Olesen)

 

 

 

Scotland finish T19 in World Cup

Great Danes are first-time winners, by four from USA, China , France

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Denmark won the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf for the first time as Søren Kjeldsen and Thorbjørn Olesen claimed a thrilling four-shot victory at Kingston Heath Golf Club, Melbourne, Australia.

The Danes had been a dominant force all week, with a stunning round of 60 in the four-balls on Friday helping them carry a four-shot lead into a final day where they played the same format.
They did not have it all their own way, however, and the lead was cut to one shot on the back nine as the United States and China both kept applying pressure, whilst France and Sweden made late surges.
But a run of five birdies in six holes from the tenth reasserted the Danes’ dominance, and Kjeldsen and Olesen ultimately ran out comfortable victors after finishing on 20 under par with a closing better-ball round of 66.
The French pair of Victor Dubuisson and Romian Langasque shared second place alongside China – represented by Wu Ashun and Li Haotong – and the United States duo of Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker.
Alex Noren and David Lingmerth combined for a brilliant closing 62 to finish shots five back for Sweden in fifth place.
The win completes excellent seasons for Kjeldsen and Olesen, with both finishing in the top 20 of the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex and the latter extending his streak of winning seasons on the European Tour to three with victory at the Turkish Airlines Open.
Denmark’s previous best finish at the World Cup of Golf had been in 2001, when Thomas Bjørn and Soren Hansen finished in a tie for second after losing in a play-off.

For Kjeldsen it was a first victory in his sixth outing, while Olesen was making his third appearance.

Ireland (277) finished best of the four home countries with England (279) next and Scotland (282) tied for 19th place. Wales finished on 283 after a very good last better-ball round.

Key quotes
Soren Kjeldsen: “To win this beautiful trophy is amazing, and I think what’s so special about it is that we don’t get to lift a trophy with another player very often. So to experience that team feeling makes it even more special than an individual event.

"We have both had good years and we finish them off like this, so obviously that builds the confidence hugely and is an incredible end to the season.”
Thorbjorn Olesen: “I had the feeling every time on the green that I really wanted to hole the putt, not just for me but for my partner too.  Then all of a sudden on the back nine, they just started rolling in. It was not just for me, it was for Soren and me and our caddies and our country.

"That’s very special. When you hole a putt and you can fist pump with your partner and your caddies, it makes it a lot more fun. It was a real four-man team this week. I thought both of our caddies did a tremendous job this week keeping us calm, and allowing us to play our game.”

Wu Ashun: “We almost touched the trophy. But we played very well this week and also very well today. My partner was very exciting today. We made eight birdies today and the only bogey was when we missed a short putt. So it was a good score and we have to be very happy with the week overall.”

Rickie Fowler: “We wanted to get off to a quick start and we knew we wanted to go out and play aggressively. We hit the shots, just didn’t get anything to go in early. 

"So I felt like from tee to green, we didn’t really miss many shots. It’s always easier if you hit it a little bit closer, but really we just didn’t get the putts to go in early enough.”

Victor Dubuisson: “It was a great day. I think we couldn’t really do any better. To shoot nine under was a great score, because the pin positions were very difficult. 

"Romain started the round really well, he made some very important putts on the first seven holes, which are very difficult. Then I made a good birdie on eight and we were four under. So I thought we had a good chance, but in the end we were a little bit short.”

FINAL TOTALS

par 288 (4x72)
1 Søren KJELDSEN / Thorbjørn OLESEN Denmark 72 60 70 66 268 
T2 WU Ashun / LI Haotong China 70 65 72 65 272 
T2 Victor DUBUISSON / Romain LANGASQUE France 70 67 72 63 272 
T2 Rickie FOWLER / Jimmy WALKER USA 70 67 69 66 272 
5 Alex NOREN / David LINGMERTH Sweden 72 66 73 62 273
T6 Francesco MOLINARI / Matteo MANASSERO Italy 71 66 73 64 274 
T6 Hideki MATSUYAMA / Ryo ISHIKAWA Japan 73 65 71 65 274 
8 Rafa CABRERA BELLO / Jon RAHM Spain 69 67 73 66 275 
T9 Shane LOWRY / Graeme McDOWELL Ireland 72 69 70 66 277 
T9 Adam SCOTT / Marc LEISHMAN Australia 74 68 70 65 277 
T11 Danny LEE / Ryan FOX New Zealand 75 64 72 67 278 
T11 David HEARN / Adam HADWIN Canada 75 68 69 66 278 
T13 Jaco VAN ZYL / George COETZEE South Africa 76 66 71 66 279
T13 Chris WOOD / Andy SULLIVAN England 71 66 77 65 279 
T13 Alex CEJKA / Stephan JAEGER Germany 74 71 70 64 279 
T13 Thomas PIETERS / Nicolas COLSAERTS Belgium 73 69 70 67 279 
T17 Bernd WIESBERGER / Martin WIEGELE Austria 73 68 71 68 280 
T17 Joost LUITEN / Darius VAN DRIEL Netherlands 75 64 75 66 280 
T19 Thongchai JAIDEE / Kiradech APHIBARNRAT Thailand 73 66 77 66 282 
T19 Russell KNOX / Duncan STEWART Scotland 78 65 72 67 282
T19 C T Pan / CHAN Shih-chang Chinese Taipei 74 65 74 69 282 
T22 Danny CHIA / Nicholas FUNG Malaysia 77 68 72 66 283 -5
T22 Bradley DREDGE / Stuart MANLEY Wales 74 66 80 63 283 
T22 S S P CHAWRASIA /  S CHIKKARANGAPPAIndia 74 66 75 68 283
T22 Byeong Hun AN / K T KIM South Korea 74 69 76 64 283
26 Ricardo GOUVEIA / José-Filipe LIMA Portugal 74 68 72 70 284
27 Jhonattan VEGAS / Julio VEGAS Venezuela 74 68 76 67 285 
28 Miguel TABUENA / Angelo QUE Philippines 77 67 77 70 291 

- Ends -
 

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Knox and Stewart have a par foursomes Round 3 and are T20

Danes still leading World Cup but Americans 

hope to make up four-shot deficit on Sunday

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The United States are hoping to heap the pressure on leaders Denmark when they go in search of their 25th title Sunday's fourth and final round at the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf at Melbourne.

Søren Kjeldsen and Thorbjørn Olesen have stolen the show so far this week, with a stunning 60 in the four-balls being sandwiched by foursomes rounds of 72 and 70, and they will take a four-shot lead into the final round.

The lead had been six shots but a two-shot swing on the 17th has given Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker a glimmer of hope, and the Americans will head out alongside the Danes in the final group in round four.

"It would be nice to be out front or a little closer but with where we were coming into today, just putting up a solid round of golf was that we wanted to do," said Fowler.

 "We did that and we gave ourselves a chance going into tomorrow.

"It's going to take some good golf and some birdies, obviously, but it will be nice being in that final group to know exactly where we stand.

"We got ourselves back in a better position than we were in. And then in the final group where we're going to be playing with the guys and seeing what they're doing and potentially what we need to do."

"We have to put some early pressure on them (the Danes)," added Walker.

"I think Rick and I just need to go out and make a bunch of birdies. That's all we can do. I know we think our best golf's still in front of us, so we'll go out tomorrow and see what happens."

China produced an impressive comeback in round three as they recovered from dropping three shots in their opening two holes to sign for a level-par 72 and sit five shots behind the Danes.

Li Haotong struggled on the first where he hit a poor tee-shot, a short chip and missed a short putt in a double-bogey, while Ashun Wu put his tee-shot on the second into the sand to surrender another stroke.

The two men do not both have European Tour wins this season for nothing, however, and they showed all their battling qualities to make three birdies and get themselves back in the hunt.

"Today was a very good recovery because we had a horrible start," said Li. "I hit so many bad shots today but luckily my putting got much better as the round went on, which is one of the reasons why we shot level par. So we need to do some work but we're still in there with a chance."

Wu added: "We have attacking in mind because we have nothing to lose. We're already a lot of shots behind, so we'll just play to make birdies. I think we can do that."
There were some horrendous scores in today's foursomes. England's Chris Wood and Andy Sullivan could do no better than a 77 for 214 and a share of 17th place.
Wales' Bradley Dredge and Stuart Manley had an 80 for 220 and are last but one in 27th place on 220.
Scotland's Russell Knox and Duncan Stewart managed to return a par round of 72 for one-under 215 and joint 20th place. Their first-round 78 has cost them dearly.

SCOREBOARD

Leading third round scores

par 216 (3x72) 1st and 3rd rounds: foursomes; 2nd and 4th rounds: four-balls

202: Denmark (Søren KJELDSEN/Thorbjørn OLESEN) 72-60-70

206: USA (Rickie FOWLER/Jimmy WALKER) 70-67-69

207: China (WU Ashun/LI Haotong) 70-65-72

209: France (Victor DUBUISSON/Romain LANGASQUE) 70-67-72, Spain (Rafa CABRERA BELLO/Jon RAHM) 69-67-73, Japan (Hideki MATSUYAMA/Ryo ISHIKAWA) 73-65-71

210: Italy (Francesco MOLINARI/Matteo MANASSERO) 71-66-73

211: Sweden (Alex NOREN/David LINGMERTH) 72-66-73, Ireland (Shane LOWRY/Graeme McDOWELL) 72-69-70, New Zealand (Danny LEE/Ryan FOX) 75-64-72

SELECTED SCORES:
212 Australia (Adam Scott/Marc Leishman) 74 68 70 (T11)
214 England (Chris Wood/Andy Sullivan) 71 66 77 (T17).
215 Scotland (Russell Knox/Duncan Stewart) 78 65 72; India, Germany (T20).
220 Wales (Bradley Dredge/Stuart Manley) 74 66 80 (27th).

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Danes still leading World Cup but Americans 

hope to make up four-shot deficit on Sunday

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

The United States are hoping to heap the pressure on leaders Denmark when they go in search of their 25th title Sunday's fourth and final round at the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf at Melbourne.

Søren Kjeldsen and Thorbjørn Olesen have stolen the show so far this week, with a stunning 60 in the four-balls being sandwiched by foursomes rounds of 72 and 70, and they will take a four-shot lead into the final round.

The lead had been six shots but a two-shot swing on the 17th has given Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker a glimmer of hope, and the Americans will head out alongside the Danes in the final group in round four.

"It would be nice to be out front or a little closer but with where we were coming into today, just putting up a solid round of golf was that we wanted to do," said Fowler.

 "We did that and we gave ourselves a chance going into tomorrow.

"It's going to take some good golf and some birdies, obviously, but it will be nice being in that final group to know exactly where we stand.

"We got ourselves back in a better position than we were in. And then in the final group where we're going to be playing with the guys and seeing what they're doing and potentially what we need to do."

"We have to put some early pressure on them (the Danes)," added Walker.

"I think Rick and I just need to go out and make a bunch of birdies. That's all we can do. I know we think our best golf's still in front of us, so we'll go out tomorrow and see what happens."

China produced an impressive comeback in round three as they recovered from dropping three shots in their opening two holes to sign for a level-par 72 and sit five shots behind the Danes.

Li Haotong struggled on the first where he hit a poor tee-shot, a short chip and missed a short putt in a double-bogey, while Ashun Wu put his tee-shot on the second into the sand to surrender another stroke.

The two men do not both have European Tour wins this season for nothing, however, and they showed all their battling qualities to make three birdies and get themselves back in the hunt.

"Today was a very good recovery because we had a horrible start," said Li. "I hit so many bad shots today but luckily my putting got much better as the round went on, which is one of the reasons why we shot level par. So we need to do some work but we're still in there with a chance."

Wu added: "We have attacking in mind because we have nothing to lose. We're already a lot of shots behind, so we'll just play to make birdies. I think we can do that."

SCOREBOARD

Leading third round scores

par 216 (3x72) 1st and 3rd rounds: foursomes; 2nd and 4th rounds: four-balls

202: Denmark (Søren KJELDSEN/Thorbjørn OLESEN) 72-60-70

206: USA (Rickie FOWLER/Jimmy WALKER) 70-67-69

207: China (WU Ashun/LI Haotong) 70-65-72

209: France (Victor DUBUISSON/Romain LANGASQUE) 70-67-72, Spain (Rafa CABRERA BELLO/Jon RAHM) 69-67-73, Japan (Hideki MATSUYAMA/Ryo ISHIKAWA) 73-65-71

210: Italy (Francesco MOLINARI/Matteo MANASSERO) 71-66-73

211: Sweden (Alex NOREN/David LINGMERTH) 72-66-73, Ireland (Shane LOWRY/Graeme McDOWELL) 72-69-70, New Zealand (Danny LEE/Ryan FOX) 75-64-72

more scores to come (including Scotland!)

Danes Kjeldsen, Olesen lead after World Cup four-balls

Knox and Stewart combine for a 65 but 

Scotland still trail in T23 position


EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS 
Søren Kjeldsen and Thorbjørn Olesen combined for a sensational 60 to fire Denmark to the top of the leaderboard on day two of the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf at Melbourne.
Just six teams fired under par in the first-round foursomes and despite increased winds at Kingston Heath Golf Club, all 28 teams managed that feat in the four-balls.
Scotland's Russell Knox and Duncan Stewart's better-ball, seven-under-par 65 was one of the best scores of the day but they have a a lot of ground to make up after their 78 in the opening foursomes and are tied 23rd on one-under-par 143.
The Danes turned a three-shot first round deficit into a three-shot second round lead, thanks to two eagles and eight birdies in a brilliant bogey-free effort.
That moved them to 12-under par 132 as they went in search of a maiden World Cup title, with second-placed China (135) also looking to lift the trophy for the first time.
Wu Ashun and Li Haotong have both won on the European Tour this season, and the duo are in a strong position to finish their campaigns in fine style after a second round 65.
Overnight leaders Rafa Cabrera Bello and Jon Rahm of Spain are in third place on eight-under 136.
Chris Wood and Andy Sullivan of England, Italian pair Francesco Molinari and Matteo Manassero, Frenchmen Victor Dubuisson and Romain Langasque, and Americans Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker are sharing fourth place on 147.

Key quotes

Thorbjørn Olesen: “To be honest, I was thinking a little bit about that 59 with the last two holes to go, but 60 was still a great score. Søren got it going by holing his second shot on the third, and then I chipped in for eagle also. So combined, we were very good.
“I felt like yesterday we did a great job in the foursomes. It’s a tricky course, especially when it blows this much. We did well yesterday and that’s what we have to do again tomorrow.”
Soren Kjeldsen: “I was just trying to play solid. Thorbjørn was playing exceptional so I thought if I get it in play and get it on the green, I could let him do all the fireworks and it worked pretty well.
“In terms of temperament, I don’t think we’re that different. But I think game-wise we’re very different. Thorbjørn’s very flashy, he hits it very far from the tee and overall has got an amazing game; whereas I’m more like a train, I arrive on time but without too much of the flashy stuff.”
Li Haotong: “When I started playing golf, I didn’t think I could get into the World Cup one day, so it’s kind of like a dream come true. So it’s very, very proud for me to be here. Everybody back home in China will be very focused on the World Cup this week, so it’s great we are playing so well.” 
Wu Ashun: “We are very good friends because I know him very well, and we practice in the same golf course. So we know each other very well, and we played the Olympics together so I think we are the best partners for one another.”
Rafa Cabrera Bello: “I think today’s round wasn’t a great one, but it wasn’t a bad one either. It’s been decent for a day, but it wasn’t our best day. I felt that maybe we were a bit unlucky with the fact that we both played great on the same holes, and played bad on the same holes as well. So it was almost like we were just playing the one ball.”

SECOND-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Round 1 foursomes; Round 2 four-balls
par 144 (2x72)
132 Denmark (Søren KJELDSEN/Thorbjørn OLESEN) 72-60
135 China (WU Ashun/LI Haotong 70-65
136 Spain (Rafa CABRERA BELLO/Jon RAHM 69-67
137 France (Victor DUBUISSON/Romain LANGASQUE) 70-67; USA (Rickie FOWLER/Jimmy WALKER) 70-67; Italy (Francesco MOLINARI/Matteo MANASSERO 71-66; England (Chris WOOD/Andy SULLIVAN) 71-66
138 Sweden (Alex NOREN/David LINGMERTH) 72-66; Japan (Hideki MATSUYAMA/Ryo ISHIKAWA) 73-65.
139 Chinese Taipei (C.T. Pan/CHAN Shih-chang) 74-65; Thailand (Thongchai JAIDEE/Kiradech APHIBARNRAT) 73 66; New Zealand (Danny Lee and Ryan Fox) 75 64; Netherlands (Joost Luiten and Darius Van Driel) 75 64
140 India (S.S.P CHAWRASIA/CHIKKARANGAPPA S) 74-66; Wales (Bradley Dredge and Stuart Manley) 74 66; Ireland (Shane Lowry and Graeme McDowell) 72 69; Austria (Bernd Wiesberger and Martin Wiegele) 73 68.
142 Venezuela (Jhonattan Vegas and Julio Vegas) 74 68; Portugal (Ricard Gouveia and Jose-Filipe Lima) 74 68; South Africa (Jaco Van Zyl and George Coetzee) 76 66; Belgium (Thomas Pieters and Nicolas Colsaerts) 73 69; Australia (Adam Scott and Marc Leishman) 74 68;
143 South Korea (Byeong Hun An and K T Kim) 74 69; Scotland (Russell Knox and Duncan Stewart) 78 65; Canada (David Hearn and Adam Hadwin) 75 68 (T23).
144 Philippines (Miguel Tabuena and Angelo Que) 77 67.
145 Germany (Alex CEJKA / Stephan JAEGER) 74 71; Malaysia (Danny Chia and Nicholas Fung) 77 68.

Spain leads, Scotland trail after World Cup foursomes
EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS First Round Report Spain opened up a one-shot lead on day one of the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf as Rafa Cabrera Bello and Jon Rahm recorded a 69 on a tough day of scoring in Melbourne.  With the wind making life tricky at Kingston Heath Golf Club, birdies were at a premium in the opening foursomes as the tournament returned to the schedule for the first time since 2013. A birdie on the last, where Cabera-Bello’s ball seemed to defy the laws of gravity by dropping into the hole, got the Spaniards to three under par, one shot clear of China, France and the United States as European Tour Members dominated the upper echelons of the leaderboard. England and Italy, whose impressive early momentum was brought to a juddering halt by a triple bogey eight on the par five 12th hole, were then on one under par heading into Friday’s first set of four-balls.  Just six of the 28 teams finished under par, with pre-tournament favourites Australia struggling in a round of 74. Cabrera Bello has not missed a cut all season in 2016, but is still searching for a first win while Rahm is just starting out in his professional career after joining the paid ranks following the US Open this summer. Spain are the fourth most successful country in World Cup history with four wins, but are searching for their first victory since 1984. France, China and the United States had all set the clubhouse target on two under and it looked as though a round in the 60s would be out of reach, before Cabrera Bello saw his 15-footer miraculously drop into the cup on the 18th.  The duo had bogeyed the fourth hole, but a brilliant Rahm approach to the eighth allowed Cabrera Bello to sink the only successful eagle putt of the day, before another birdie followed on the 12th. Key quotes Rafa Cabrera Bello (Spain): “It was a fun putt on the last because it looked like I couldn’t miss, but then all of a sudden it did miss so I don’t know how it came back. So it was a good end to a good day.  It was tough and tricky in the wind. But Jon played great, I rolled in some nice putts and hit some good shots as well, so I think it was a score we’re proud of but also a score we deserve. Jon Rahm (Spain): “This kind of course and this type of golf than what I’m used to playing in the States. But we planned our strategy which had me hitting most of the tee shots. And then he hit a couple of great shots, rolled some putts in and that’s pretty much what we needed. But it wasn’t so much about hitting great shots, it was more about avoiding mistakes and we did that perfectly.” Victor Dubuisson (France): “We are very good friends and for us to play together here, it’s like a dream from back when we were children. I’m very happy with our score today because it was really tough.” Wu Ashun (China): “It was very good and my partner was playing very well and we made a lot of birdies, so it was very exciting to play. “We made I think the best putt [on the last hole]. It was just unbelievable. Li was giving me some ideas on the breaks and talked about speed, it was very fast this afternoon and the winds were blowing too. So we talked a little bit on the line and he said just take it easy, just relax and putt and it goes in. It’s unbelievable.” Jimmy Walker (America): “I think we got everything out of the round that we could’ve done today, and that’s what it takes to play well and stay in a golf tournament. We didn’t have the easiest bunker shots, there were a couple of them where we were short-sided and I gave Rickie a couple of tough putts, but he buried them.  “The course played tough today, it really did. I thought starting out today that if you shot anything under par, it was going to be pretty good. All the par fives played straight into the wind today. So we had to battle all day, and it really was a battle at times but I feel like we came out on top.” Adam Scott (Australia): “I think it was just the wind. It’s very tough to gauge exactly what’s going on out there when it’s blustery. “We had no momentum today but in these conditions, it’s about as hard as it gets playing foursomes in blustery conditions around a tricky course.” Round One Scores: 1st Rafa CABRERA BELLO / Jon RAHM ESP 69  T2 WU Ashun / LI Haotong CHN 70  Victor DUBUISSON / Romain LANGASQUE FRA 70  T2 Rickie FOWLER / Jimmy WALKER USA 70  T5 Francesco MOLINARI / Matteo MANASSERO ITA 71  T5 Chris WOOD / Andy SULLIVAN ENG 71  7th Alex NOREN / David LINGMERTH SWE 72  Shane LOWRY / Graeme MCDOWELL IRL 72 Søren KJELDSEN / Thorbjørn OLESEN DEN 72  10th Thongchai JAIDEE / Kiradech APHIBARNRAT THA 73  Hideki MATSUYAMA / Ryo ISHIKAWA JPN 73  Thomas PIETERS / Nicolas COLSAERTS BEL 73  Bernd WIESBERGER / Martin WIEGELE AUT 73  T14 Bradley DREDGE / Stuart MANLEY WAL 74 Byeong Hun AN / K.T. KIM SOUTH KOR 74  C.T. Pan / CHAN Shih-chang TPE 74  S.S.P CHAWRASIA / CHIKKARANGAPPA S IND 74  Jhonattan VEGAS / Julio VEGAS VEN 74  Adam SCOTT / Marc LEISHMAN AUS 74  Ricardo GOUVEIA / José-Filipe LIMA POR 74  Alex CEJKA / Stephan JAEGER GER 74 T22 Joost LUITEN / Darius VAN DRIEL NED 75  David HEARN / Adam HADWIN CAN 75  Danny LEE / Ryan FOX NZL 75  25th Jaco VAN ZYL / George COETZEE RSA 76  26th Miguel TABUENA / Angelo QUE PHI 77  Danny CHIA / Nicholas FUNG MAS 77  28th Russell KNOX / Duncan STEWART SCO 78  -
EU