Gavin Green has earned the last and final spot in the ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf later this year after being announced as one of the first 28 players by tournament officials today.
Contested at The Metropolitan Golf Club in the Melbourne Sandbelt from November 22 to 25, 2018, the 59th ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf will see 56 players vie for the largest prize-money purse in Australian golf, with US$7 million on offer.
The 24-year-old Green squeezed into the final field after Chinese Taipei’s C.T. Pan and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann elected not to commit to the World Cup of Golf. He was the second reserve from the Official World Golf Ranking after Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent.
Green created history in 2017 after becoming the first Malaysian to lift the Asian Tour Order of Merit title, becoming the second youngest golfer after Noh Seung-yul to win the accolade. During the season, he won a maiden Asian Tour victory in Chinese Taipei and finished runner-up on two other occasions.
In recent weeks, the long-hitting Malaysian finished third in the Czech Masters and T12 at the European Masters and is currently ranked 173rd in the world.
In the last World Cup of Golf held at Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne two years ago, Danny Chia and Nicholas Fung teamed up to finish T22. Malaysia’s best finish was in 1994 when M. Ramayah and the late P. Gunasegaran finished ninth in Puerto Rico.
The committed player from each of the top 28 countries has until 5 p.m. USA eastern time on Thursday, 20 September to choose his partner for the ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf. The field of 56 players will be final as of 20 September.
The 72-hole stroke play team format will feature Four-ball (best ball) play in the first and third rounds and Foursomes (alternate shot) play in the second and final rounds. In 2016, Danes Søren Kjeldsen and Thorbjørn Olesen shot a final-round 66 in foursomes at Kingston Heath to win Denmark’s first World Cup of Golf title by four strokes over the United States, China and France.
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 organization made up of all Tours from across the globe including the PGA TOUR, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, the ISPS HANDA PGA of Australasia, the Asian Tour and Sunshine Tour (South Africa PGA Tour).
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.
Three and five-night Melbourne World Cup of Golf tournament travel packages are also available, including accommodation, tickets, souvenir merchandise and coaches to transport you to the event in comfort and style. Fans can also extend their stay in Melbourne and explore further afield with the flexibility to drive, chip and putt to their heart’s content.
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
