Canada against the world in new-look global golf tournament

 

Adam Scott of Australia is a favourite this week in the World Cup of Golf at Royal Melbourne, where he won the Australian Masters last week. Scott and Jason Day will represent Australia in the team event, which this year is being overshadowed by a more lucrative individual competition.

 

A golf tournament that was once the pride of Canada gets rolling Thursday at Melbourne, Australia.

The World Cup of Golf — known as the Canada Cup from 1953 through 1967 — features 26 two-man teams from across the globe but has been rejigged this year with the emphasis shifting to a lucrative individual competition.

The individual event carries $7 million in prize money and will include eight players who are not members of teams. The team event, by comparison, has a purse of only $1 million.

Canada has captured the team crown three times: Al Balding and George Knudson in 1968 in Rome; Dan Halldorson and Jim Nelford in 1980 in Bogota, Colombia; and Dave Barr and Halldorson in 1985 at La Quinta, Calif.

David Hearn and Brad Fritsch are representing Canada, but teammates aren’t necessarily paired together during the four rounds of the tournament under this year’s new format.

Adam Scott and Jason Day, playing on home soil, are considered the favourites in the team competition. Scott won the Australian Masters last week, also at Royal Melbourne.

“The new format is a little strange,” Scott told reporters in Australia.

“I was kind of hoping I would be spending the four days playing alongside Jason as I thought that would be good for both of us, but then this event is trying to find a new identity, I guess.

“So we are running with this new format this year ahead of taking it to the Olympics in 2016, so we will see how it pans out.”

The U.S. is the defending  champion. Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland took top spot with a score of 264, two strokes ahead of England and Germany, at Mission Hills Golf Club in China in 2011, when the event became a biennial competition, in part to accommodate golf’s return to the Olympics in 2016.