Golf News for Tuesday, November 25, 2008 | Tournaments

Team from India prepares for the Omega Mission Hills World Cup

Indian duo Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa are hoping that a strong campaign at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup will bring further growth to the game in their country.

Singh and Randhawa will team up for the first time for the 28-nation competition at Mission Hills Golf Club from November 27 to 30.

While Randhawa featured in the team that finished ninth in 2005 for India's best ever finish, Singh will be making his long-awaited debut and he is gushing with pride at the opportunity to fly his country's flag in China.

"We are very excited, we are very strong as a team," said Singh, the Asian Tour's number one in 2006 and virtually assured of this season's Order of Merit title after securing victory at last week's Barclays Singapore Open.

"It's great to have a chance to represent India. Golf in India is growing. If we can make things happen there, it'll be good. We want to try and have a good finish. We have a good chance of doing well."

Singh, a Member of both The European Tour and Asian Tour, has enjoyed a stellar season with victories in Europe, Japan and Asia which has lifted him back into the world's top-50. With the year coming to a close, he wants to cap it off with a successful campaign in the Omega Mission Hills World Cup.

"Although Jyoti and I haven't played together as a team, I believe we'll get on well together. The only thing that we are shy on is the alternate shot format. We're not used to it but I've spoken to Jyoti that we shouldn't say sorry to each other.

"If he hits a bad shot or I hit a bad shot, we're not going to say sorry. We are certainly going to put pressure on each other by leaving five or 10 footers for pars but this happens even when we play for ourselves. We should always take a stride forward and move on."

A renowned traveller on the international airways to play on the world's finest fairways, Singh has often been forced to skip the World Cup due to his hectic playing schedule.

"I've always had to defend a tournament or tried to keep my card somewhere," said Singh, who usually clocks around 40 tournaments per season. "That's why I've never had the opportunity to represent India but now that we've got a direct entry (through the World Rankings), I am excited at the prospect at playing in the World Cup."

Randhawa said he would be riding on Singh's terrific form in China. "I just need to keep making pars and he'll do the rest," said Randhawa, Asia's number one in 2002.

"It's a good team and we hope to do well. It is different playing in the World Cup as there is more pressure as you're playing for the country and there is a lot riding on it. It's a great event and I'm looking forward to it."

Randhawa and Singh are firm friends as they grew up playing professional golf during the 1990s, which the former believes will carry the team to a good showing in Mission Hills.

"We're comfortable being around each other, we are regularly having meals together on Tour. He's a funny guy as well and I hope we don't take it onto the golf course! We will certainly focus on our game and I'm looking forward to partnering him," said Randhawa.

The 28 nations and teams who will compete in the 2008 Omega Mission Hills World Cup are:-

Australia (Richard Green, Brendan Jones)
Canada (Wes Heffernan and Graham DeLaet)
Chile (Felipe Aquilar, Mark Tullo)
China (Liang Wen-chong, Zhang Lian-wei)
Chinese Taipei (Lin Wen-tang , Lu Wen-teh)
Denmark (Søren Hansen, Anders Hansen)
England (Ian Poulter, Ross Fisher)
Finland (Roope Kakko and Mikko Korhonen)
France (Gregory Havret, Gregory Bourdy)
Germany (Martin Kaymer, Alex Cejka)
Guatemala (Pablo Acuña, Alejandro Villavicencio)
India (Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa)
Ireland (Graeme McDowell, Paul McGinley)
Italy (Francesco and Edoardo Molinari)
Japan (Ryuji Imada, Toru Taniguchi)
Korea (Bae Sang-moon and Kim Hyung-tae)
Mexico (Oscar Serna, Daniel De León)
New Zealand (Mark Brown, David Smail)
Philippines (Angelo Que and Mars Pucay)
Portugal (Tiago Cruz and Ricardo Santos)
Scotland (Alastair Forysth, Colin Montgomerie)
South Africa (Rory Sabbatini, Richard Sterne)
Spain (Miguel Angel Jiménez, Pablo Larrazabal)
Sweden (Henrik Stenson, Robert Karlsson)
Thailand (Prayad Marksaeng, Thongchai Jaidee)
USA (Ben Curtis, Brandt Snedeker)

Venezuela (Miguel Martinez, Raul Sanz)
Wales (Bradley Dredge, Richard Johnson

ABOUT OMEGA
The prestige watch manufacturer OMEGA was founded in Switzerland in 1848 and since then has continually set the pace in the many fields of watchmaking, from sports timekeeping and design awards to watches for professional use in space or underwater. OMEGA is closely associated with a world of achievements including the conquest of space, timekeeping at 23 Olympic Games and numerous precision records as well as the launch in 1999 of the revolutionary Co-Axial calibre, one of the 20th century's major innovations in mechanical watchmaking designed with the English master watchmaker George Daniels. Having just finished the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, OMEGA will continue to be the Official Timekeeper for the Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Olympic Games.

ABOUT MISSION HILLS GOLF CLUB, CHINA:
Founded in 1994, Mission Hills Golf Club, China, seeks to create 'international goodwill through golf'. The Club occupies over 20 square kilometres of land from Shenzhen to Dongguan in Southern China, and boasts 12 signature courses designed by golf legends from five continents: Jack Nicklaus, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Jumbo Ozaki, Zhang Lian-Wei, José Maria Olazábal, David Leadbetter, Greg Norman, Annika Sorenstam, David Duval, Nick Faldo and Pete Dye. In light of this feat, the Club was accredited by the Guinness World RecordsTM as the World's Largest Golf Facility. Besides, Mission Hills is the host venue for the Omega Mission Hills World Cup of Golf from 2007 to 2018.

As a complete golf destination, the Club houses a five-star hotel, four luxury clubhouses, world-class spa, three golf academies managed by international elite golf coaches, and palatial residences. It was voted "Golf Resort of the Year" in the Rest of the World Category in 2005 by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO). The Olazábal Course, the proud venue of the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup in 2008, has been ranked the number one resort course in Asia by Golfing Magazine in the 2008 issue.

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL GOLF ASSOCIATION:
Established by Canadian industrialist John Jay Hopkins in 1953, the International Golf Association has pursued the mission of "International Goodwill through Golf" for over fifty years. As the owner of the World Cup name, IGA has sanctioned the world's most prestigious international team golf competition throughout six decades. IGA is governed by its Board of Directors, which includes Chairman Jonathan S. Linen (Advisor to the Chairman, American Express), Deane R. Beman (Former PGA TOUR Commissioner), J. B. McCoy (Retired Chairman, Bank One Corporation) and Bill Souders (Former Executive Vice-President and Director, Xerox Corporation).

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF PGA TOURS:
The International Federation of PGA Tours, formed in 1996, was created to enhance the competitive structure of professional golf worldwide while preserving the traditions and strengths of the six member Tours. The member Tours are the Asian Tour, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA TOUR, PGA Tour of Australasia and Southern Africa Tour. The Canadian Tour and the Tour de las Americas are Associate Members of the Federation. Three major initiatives were outlined: the formation of the International Federation of PGA Tours; joint sanctioning by the members of the International Federation of PGA Tours of significant competitions for the game's top players; and a structure for a generally accepted worldwide ranking system.

For further information, please contact:

Communications Division
The European Tour
Tel: +44 (0) 1344 840400
Fax: +44 (0) 1344 840444
Email: media@europeantour.com

Laura Hill
PGA TOUR
Senior Director, Communications
904-273-7655 (office)
904-280-6873 (fax)
laurahill@pgatourhq.com

David Woo
Communications Department
Mission Hills Golf Club
Tel: +86 755 2802 0888
Fax: +86 755 2802 5751
Email: davidwoo@missionhillsgroup.com

OMEGA
OMEGA HK Press Office
Tel: +852 2510 5214
Fax: +852 2887 8432
Email: press.omega@hk.swatchgroup.com

Helen Jiang
PEOPLE Marketing Solutions
Tel: +86 159 215 95018
Email: helen.jiang@people-china.com.cn



 
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