NORTON, Mass. – The deadline for entry is still nearly a month away (Sept. 23), but many of the game’s top players already seem poised to play November’s World Cup in Australia.
Of particular interest is whether Adam Scott, who became the first Australian to win the Masters earlier this year and moved to second in the world ranking with his victory last week at The Barclays, will represent the home team at Royal Melbourne. On Thursday at TPC Boston, Scott was coy when asked if he planned to play the event.
“Definitely thinking about it, seeing I’ll be right there, it’s at Royal Melbourne. It’s not too bad playing two weeks in a row at Royal Melbourne,” he said.
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The issue for Scott is that he’s already signed up to play the Australian Masters the week before the World Cup at Royal Melbourne, followed in consecutive weeks by the Australian Open and Australian PGA. He’s also scheduled to play the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda the week before heading Down Under.
If Scott does play the World Cup he would likely be paired with Jason Day, who is currently ranked 18th in the world.
The 60-player World Cup field will be based on the Sept. 23 world ranking. Under the new qualifying system, countries can send up to four players to Royal Melbourne provided they are ranked inside the top 15 in the world. Conversely, a country with only one player who qualifies could send just that one player to compete under the new format, which includes an individual and team competition similar to the format that will be used for the 2016 Olympics.
No. 6 Matt Kuchar has already committed to playing the World Cup and sources say he will likely be teamed with No. 7 Brandt Snedeker. The United States currently has eight players ranked in the top 15.
England – with No. 5 Justin Rose, No. 11 Luke Donald and No. 13 Lee Westwood – is the only other country with more than two players ranked inside the top 15.
