Playing dual roles of hosts and favorites, Sergio Garcia and Miguel Angel Jimenez will tee it up tomorrow in the WGC World Cup of Golf in Seville, Spain. Garcia, an invited player, chose Jimenez as his partner to give themselves a home field advantage. One other advantage the couple has is that the 7,134-yard layout was designed by two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal.
Scott Verplank and Bob Tway make up the American contingent. The top ten Americans in the world ranking turned down the invitation to this, the last of the season’s four World Golf Championships. Only two top-10 players accepted – Garcia and Ireland’s Padraig Harrington.
“Just because nine Americans didn’t want to come, doesn’t mean it won’t be a great tournament,” Jimenez said. “If you don’t want to come, if you don’t want to enjoy Seville, if you don’t want to enjoy the sun, the food and the Spanish wine, you are missing a lot. I feel sorry for them.”
Other notable pairings include Harrington and Paul McGinley of Ireland, Paul Casey and Luke Donald of England and South Africans Rory Sabbatini and Trevor Immelman, who are trying to become the first repeat champions since Fred Couples and Davis Love III won their fourth straight World Cup in 1995.
The stroke-play event features Four-ball (better ball) on Thursday and Saturday with Foursomes (alternate shot) on Friday and Saturday.
The Americans are rude. We expect the best foreign players to come and play on our soil all year long, but we can’t return the favor for one weekend in beautiful Spain? That just bugs me. Not to mention that if I was to live anywhere else in the world it would be Spain. Best foreign country I’ve ever visited, by far. But our golfers need to get rid of the ego and start showing some mutual respect.