19th Hole
By Yoon Chul
PGA Championship winner Yang Yong-eun will partner with friend Charlie Wi (Wi Chang-soo) to represent South Korea at the Mission Hills World Cup in China, from Thursday to Sunday.
Teams from 28 countries will be competing at the Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzen.
The tournament, which was first played in 1953, will use a unique format.
The first and third rounds will be fourball, where each player uses their own ball and the player who takes the fewest shots wins the hole for their team.
Foursomes play will be used in the second and final rounds where each pair uses just one ball.
It will be Yang's first time playing under this format, however Wi played in the World Cup in 2006. Yang's only previous experience with team play was the Presidents Cup in October.
"Wi is my very close friend," Yang said. "I have practiced with him over and over and there is no problem in generating synergy with him."
"I won't make any predictions but I will do my best so that we get a good result," he said.
Korea's best showing at the event was a third place finish in 2002, when Choi Kyoung-ju was paired with Huh Suk-ho in Mexico.
The traditional powerhouse in the tournament is the United States, which has won the event 23 times, but the Americans may not be the favorites this year.
The duo of John Merrick and Nick Watney will represent the United States, not exactly household names like Phil Mickelson or Tiger Woods, who have played in the tournament in the past.
Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson of Sweden are back to defend their title, and Ross Fisher and Ian Poulter of England will also be favorites.
The winner receives $1.7 million in prize money from a total purse of $5.5 million.