Stellar line-up for World Cup ... but no Tiger
TIGER Woods is expected in Melbourne some time before the end of 2018 but it won’t be at the World Cup after confirmation his $12 million head-to-head battle will take place in Las Vegas on the same weekend.
But while Woods, who is required in Melbourne to do Presidents Cup reconnaissance before next year’s event, won’t be at Metropolitan in November as hoped, the field looks set to be stacked with champions.
Woods and Phil Mickelson, who have won 19 majors, 122 PGA Tour events and more than $270 million in prizemoney between them, will go head to head at the exclusive Shadow Creek Golf Club in the made-forTV event, dubbed “The Match”.
The timing of the event drew some criticism because it clashes with the World Cup and thwarted attempts to get Woods to Melbourne at the same time.
But it’s understood officials hope the flow-on effect, given its likely to be played early morning Australian time, gets the tournament more attention.
The 56-player field for the World Cup will consist of the top-ranked player from the top 28 countries on the official world rankings as of September 3, and a partner of their choice.
Volatility at the top makes it difficult for World Cup officials to lock in any players, but current world No.2 Brooks Koepka, who won both the US Open and PGA this year, looms as a potential starter.
Big-hitting Koepka, who could be No.1 by next week depending on his performance in the Northern Trust Open in New Jersey this week — the first event of the FedEx Cup playoffs — will be in Japan before the World Cup, defending his title at the Dunlop Phoenix event.
Italy’s Francesco Molinari, a British Open champion, is a potential starter, having played in seven World Cups. Australia is set to be represented by Victorian Marc Leishman and his chosen partner, as Jason Day, currently world No.10, is expected to remain in the US for the birth of his third child.