STELLAR VOLVO WORLD MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD FINALIZED
Leading Players on the 2009 Race to Dubai All Seize Their Chance to Play in the 'New Look' Championship
2009 Masters Champion, Angel Cabrera and European stars Rory McIlroy, Simon Dyson, Ross Fisher and Oliver Wilson complete the 16-man field at the 2009 Volvo World Match Play Championship at Finca Cortesin from the October 29th-November1st.
Joining the likes of Paul Casey, Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer, the five players qualified via their leading positions on the Race to Dubai Rankings. All 16 places in the field are now filled and with 11 of the players in the World's top 30 and 11 nationalities represented among the 16 players, it is one of the strongest and most international fields ever gathered for the World Match Play Championship.
Angel Cabrera, making his 5th appearance in the World Match Play Championship, explained how much he is looking forward to this years tournament, "I reached the final at the last World Match Play in 2007 and was really disappointed to lose out in the final to Ernie. I am very excited to qualify and give myself another chance to win this great Championship. I think I will enjoy the change to the round robin format and I am also looking forward to the playing at the new venue, Finca Cortesin, which I hear has some very dramatic match play holes."
Rory McIlroy, who won his first title at the Dubai Desert Classic earlier this year and is currently leading the Race to Dubai Rankings, explained, "I love the freedom that match play brings and having had some good wins in Arizona earlier this year and really enjoyed the Vivendi Trophy, I am excited to get to Finca Cortesin for some more. It will be my first World Match Play and I am really looking forward to it. The list of past winners is incredible and it is a great field again this year so if I do well I think this could be a big week for me on the Race to Dubai-especially if I mange to get through the group stages."
Simon Dyson, whose performances this year have elevated him to 44th on the Official World Rankings added, "I've had a great year, but winning the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship last week was huge for me. As a result, it is my first time qualifying for the Volvo World Match Play Championship. I am thoroughly looking forward to the week and it will also give me the opportunity to improve my standings on the Race to Dubai Rankings still further. I think there are ten of us in the field who are in the top 13 on that list so it is going to be a big week for us all."
Ross Fisher, who showed his match play skills when he stormed to the semi finals of the WGC-Accenture World Match Play earlier this year explained, "I think my game and temperament are well suited to match play and I cope with the pressures well. I am still looking for my first win of the season and certainly the Volvo World Match Play Championship is a title I would love to win. I watched it every year at Wentworth as a junior, always wishing I was in the field so it is exciting to finally qualify and get my shot at a title I’ve dreamed of winning since I was a young boy."
Oliver Wilson, whose consistent performances have taken him to No.35 in the world, and is one of 10 players making his debut in the Championship is similarly thrilled, enthusing, "I am thrilled to have made it into my first World Match Play Championship. It is one of those elite events that you watch from afar as you are climbing the professional ranks so it is very special to have actually qualified for such a limited field. I had a couple of great scalps at the Accenture Match Play earlier this year beating KJ Choi and Anthony Kim so I am really looking forward having a great week and hopefully improving my standing on the Race to Dubai Rankings."
The player field in alphabetical order is as follows:
Robert Allenby (Aus)
Angel Cabrera (Arg)
Paul Casey (Eng)
Simon Dyson (Eng)
Ross Fisher (Eng)
Sergio Garcia (Esp)
Retief Goosen (Zaf)
Martin Kaymer (Ger)
Anthony Kim (USA)
Rory McIlroy (Nir)
Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind)
Henrik Stenson (Swe)
Scott Strange, (Aus)
Lee Westwood (Eng)
Camilo Villegas (Col)
Oliver Wilson (Eng)
The players, who will compete for a total prize fund of €3.25 million, and a first prize of €750,000, will be drawn together in 4 groups on their World Ranking as of the 26th October as follows:
Group A
Seve Ballesteros Group
Seeds 1, 8, 9 and 16
Group B
Mark McCormack Group
Seeds 4, 5, 12 and 13
Group C
Gustaf Larson Group
Seeds 3, 6, 11 and 14
Group D
Assar Gabrielson Group
Seeds 2, 7, 10 and 15.
This is the 45th edition of the World Match Play Championship and will be Volvo’s first time as Championship partners with IMG, having hosted the 21st and final Volvo Masters at Club de Golf Valderrama in 2008. The Finca Cortesín event is Volvo’s 120th title sponsorship in professional golf.
The Championship will be held in Spain for the first time in its history moving from Wentworth Club as 16 of the world’s best players go head-to-head in classic match play golf over the magnificent 7,439-yard course at Finca Cortesin designed by Cabell B Robinson.
The winner of each group will qualify for the semi finals which, along with the final, will be played over 36 holes in traditional and compelling head-to head-match play golf, considered by many to be the purest form of the Royal and Ancient game.
Source: IMG Golf
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