World Cup of Golf betting tips and preview
Venue: The Metropolitan Golf Club, South Oakleigh, Melbourne
Date: November 22-25, 2018
Course stats: Par 72, 7,170 yards
Purse: $7 million (£5.4m)
Defending champion: Denmark – Soren Kjeldsen & Thorbjorn Olesen
TV coverage
Thursday: Sky Sports Golf – from 1am
Friday: Sky Sports Golf – from 1am
Saturday: Sky Sports Golf – from 1am
Sunday: Sky Sports Golf – from 1am
The Teams (world ranking)
Australia: Marc Leishman (21) & Cameron Smith (33)
Belgium: Thomas Pieters (70) & Thomas Detry (140)
Canada: Adam Hadwin (65) & Nick Taylor (313)
China: Haotong Li (40) & Ashun Wu (177)
Denmark: Thorbjorn Olesen (42) & Soren Kjeldsen (231)
England: Tyrrell Hatton (25) & Ian Poulter (39)
Finland: Mikko Korhonen (108) & Mikko Ilonen (310)
France: Alexander Levy (95) & Mike Lorenzo-Vera (115)
Germany: Martin Kaymer (159) & Maximilian Kieffer (291)
Greece: Peter Karmis (248) & Alexander Tranacher (2012)
India: Anirban Lahiri (139) & Gaganjeet Bhullar (137)
Ireland: Shane Lowry (74) & Paul Dunne (106)
Italy: Andrea Pavan (103) & Renato Paratore (227)
Japan: Satoshi Kodaira (54) & Hideto Tanihara (165)
South Korea: Byeong Hun An (50) & Si Woo Kim (57)
Malaysia: Gavin Kyle Green (198) & Ben Leong (397)
Mexico: Abraham Ancer (60) & Roberto Diaz (742)
Netherlands: Joost Luiten (110) & Daan Huizing (320)
New Zealand: Ryan Fox (89) & Mark Brown (496)
Scotland: Russell Knox (67) & Martin Laird (186)
South Africa: Dylan Frittelli (75) & Erik Van Rooyen (135)
Spain: Adrian Otaegui (69) & Jorge Campillo (99)
Sweden: Alexander Bjork (63) & Joakim Lagergren (188)
Thailand: Kiradech Aphibarnrat (36) & Prom Meesawat (488)
USA: Kyle Stanley (30) & Matt Kuchar (29)
Venezuela: Jhonattan Vegas (107) & Joseph Naffah (2012)
Wales: Stuart Manley (242) & Bradley Dredge (466)
Zimbabwe: Scott Vincent (148) & Benjamin Follett-Smith (919)
World Cup of Golf preview
The first World Cup of Golf was played in 1953, and the USA top the all-time wins with 24, while Australia and South Africa have five trophies apiece in second place.
Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen claimed Denmark their first World Cup two years ago at Kingston Heath, and the two will team up again to try and go back-to-back at the Metropolitan Golf Club – one of the renowned sandbelt courses in Melbourne.
The format is 72 holes of strokeplay; the first and third days are fourball bestball, where players each play their own ball and the best score is put forward on each hole, while the second and final days are foursomes, where players alternate shots.
So that’s how it all works and who is competiting – but who is our resident tipster backing for glory? Find out on the next page…
Tom Irwin
Tom is a lifetime golfer, now over 30 years playing the game. 2023 marks 10 years in golf publishing and he is still holding down a + handicap at Alwoodley in Leeds. He has played over 600 golf courses, and has been a member of at least four including his first love Louth, in Lincolnshire. Tom likes unbranded clothing, natural fibres, and pencil bags. Seacroft in Lincolnshire is where it starts and ends.
