The World Cup of Golf became the fourth event of the World Golf Championships in 2000 when the International Federation of PGA Tours entered into an agreement with the International Golf Association, the organization which operated the World Cup beginning in 1953.

The United States has won a record 23 World Cups with David Duval and Tiger Woods winning at Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2000 when the World Cup was first played as a World Golf Championships event.

The Mission Hills World Cup will mark the event’s second visit to Mission Hills. In 1995, the World Cup of Golf was contested there with the United States team of Fred Couples and Davis Love III winning by 14 strokes over Australia. In his winning speech, Love said of the event: “The World Cup is truly a big deal around the world. With 32 countries involved it is like the Olympic Games competition.”

This year, the World Golf Championships–Barbados World Cup will be contested at Sandy Lane Resort in St. James, Barbados. The team of Stephen Dodd and Bradley Dredge led Wales to their second title in the event last year in Portugal.

The 2008 World Golf Championships-Mission Hills World Cup will be played Nov. 17-23. Dates, field criteria and format for a World Golf Championships event at Mission Hills will be announced at a later date.

The Olazabal Course is one of 10 courses at Mission Hills Golf Club. It will be the second Olazabal design to play host to a World Golf Championships event. The 2004 World Cup was played at the Real Club de Golf de Sevilla in Seville, Spain.

“Golf has over 500 years of history. I am proud to be part of this new historical moment,” said Dr. David Chu JP, chairman of Mission Hills Group. “To bring the World Golf Championships to China, a country with the fastest economic growth for the past ten years, signifies the breaking of tradition. By creating this new history, we can make golf a truly international sport. Golf can create a bridge for international goodwill between China and the rest of the world.”

At the end of this year World Golf Championships will have been played in 10 different nations. The series only previous visit to Asia was in 2001 when the World Cup was played at Japan’s Taiheyo Club in Gotemba City.

“Golf in China only has twenty years of history,” said Mr. Zhang Xiao Ling, executive vice president & secretary general, China Golf Association. “Despite this, it has enormous potential for growth. Staging this prestigious event will help golf in China and Asia Pacific to compete at the highest level. The process of golf development will be accelerated and it will further help the region to integrate with the sporting world.”