Published July 17, 2008 on September 5, 2018

Six Asian Nations Amongst 28 Countries Qualified for ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf

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Six Asian nations – South Korea, China, Thailand, India, Chinese Taipei and Japan – are amongst the top 28 countries which have officially qualified for the 2018 ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf based on the Official World Golf Ranking for the week of 3 September.

The rankings were finalised on 4 September following the conclusion of the PGA TOUR’s Dell Technologies Championship, which traditionally concludes on Monday.

The ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf, set to be contested 21-25 November 2018 at The Metropolitan Golf Club, will feature two-man teams from the top 28 nations based on the Official World Golf Ranking.

The 59^th staging of the event will see the 56-player field vie for the largest prizemoney purse in Australian golf, with $US7 million on offer.

The top-ranked player from each of the top 28 countries has until 5 p.m. USA eastern time on Thursday, 13 September to commit to the ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf. If the top-ranked player elects not to commit, the option will be passed to the next highest-ranked player from that country based on the Official World Golf Ranking.

Qualified Countries: 
1. United States
 2. England
 3. Spain
 4. Italy
 5. Ireland
 6. Australia
 7. Sweden 8. Japan
 9. South Africa
 10. Thailand
 11. Denmark 
12. Korea
 13. China
 14. Argentina
 15. Canada
 16. Scotland 
17. Belgium 
18. New Zealand 
19. Venezuela 20. France 
21. Austria 
22. India 
23. Netherlands 
24. Chinese Taipei 
25. Finland 
26. Mexico 
27. Germany 
28. Chile

Alternates: 
1. Zimbabwe
 2. Paraguay
 3. Malaysia
 4. Wales
 5. Greece

In the history of the World Cup of Golf, only Japan and Chinese Taipei have won the prestigious team event for Asia.

Torakichi Nakamura and Koichi Ono delivered a popular home win for Japan in 1957 while Toshimitsu Izawa and Shigeki Maruyama teamed up for a second Japanese triumph in Mexico in 2002, which was also last time an Asian country won the event. Hsieh Min-nan and Lu Liang-huan earned Chinese Taipei’s lone World Cup of Golf success in 1972 when it was staged at Royal Melbourne.

In 2016 when the World Cup of Golf was played at Kingston Heath in Melbourne, China’s Li Haotong and Wu Ashun contended for the title before settling for tied second place.

Alternate countries can potentially qualify if the top-ranked player from one of the qualified 28 countries does not commit, and the next highest-ranked player is lower in the rankings than a player from an alternate country.

For instance, if Canada’s Adam Hadwin does not commit to the event, the next eligible player from Canada is Graham DeLaet, who is ranked No. 260 in the standings. Since Scott Vincent from Zimbabwe is ranked higher than DeLaet, Vincent and Zimbabwe would then take over Canada’s position as one of the 28 teams qualified.

Once all 28 countries have their committed player, that player has until the following Thursday, 20 September at 5 p.m. USA eastern time to pick his partner. The full field of 56 players will be announced at that time.

The ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf is one of five tournaments that are co-sanctioned by the International Federation of PGA Tours, joining the four events in the World Golf Championships series as tournaments which the Federation oversees. The International Federation of PGA Tours is an organisation made up of all Tours from across the globe including the PGA TOUR, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, the PGA of Australia, the Asian Tour, South African Tour and more.

Tickets are now on sale and ticket options range from Wednesday practice round tickets starting at $16.00, single-day competitive round tickets starting at $24.00 and tickets to the upgraded MacKenzie Club (Thurs-Sun) starting at $80.00. Weekly tickets are also available for $96, with a MacKenzie Club option priced at $295. Fans are encouraged to secure their tickets early in order to save.

Ticket buyers are reminded that youth under the age of 16 are admitted to the event free of charge when accompanied by a ticketed adult. To purchase tickets or find more information on ticket options, fans can log on to www.WorldCupofGolf.com.