Defending
champions Jason Day, Adam Scott headline field as
players from 28 countries commit to World Cup of Golf

Commitments from a collection of golf’s
biggest stars have arrived and the 58^th playing of the World Cup of
Golf will feature a world-class and diverse field of 28 two-man teams in a return
to its previous format, with teams playing for national pride as they represent
their countries at Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne on November 23-27.

While the highest-ranked players from
their respective countries have officially qualified and committed to the World
Cup of Golf, players have until August 26^th to choose their playing
partner. Some players have opted to do so already, while others will take their
time in deciding their teammate.

Australia – Jason Day (No. 1 OWGR) and Adam Scott (No. 7 OWGR)

Headlining the field are Australians
Jason Day and Adam Scott, who return to defend their title from the last
playing of the World Cup of Golf in 2013. The World Cup of Golf returns to a
strictly team format in 2016 after a combined individual and team competition
in 2013. Day, after winning the individual competition in 2013 as well as the
team title with Scott, has since taken his career to new levels with nine PGA
TOUR victories including two World Golf Championships wins and his first major
championship victory at the 2015 U.S. PGA Championship. During this remarkable
run, Day has reached No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking, where he
currently stands, as well as No. 1 in the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup standings.

"The victory at the 2013 World Cup of
Golf was a kick-start to a phenomenal stretch of golf for me," Day said. "I am
truly looking forward to the new team format with Adam. I really can’t imagine
a better scenario than to represent Australia in our home country, with one of
my good mates at Kingston Heath, one of my all-time favorite courses."

Day World Cup of Golf history

• 2013 – 1^st (individual), 1^st team

Scott returns to Kingston Heath as a
player with a successful history at the world-renowned course, including a
victory at the Australian Masters in 2012. A 13-time winner on the PGA TOUR,
Scott is one of five players with multiple victories on TOUR this season with
wins in back-to-back weeks at the Honda Classic and the World Golf
Championships-Mexico Championship. Scott ranks No. 7 in the Official World Golf
Ranking. Scott and Day have played on three International Teams (2011, 2013 and
2015) on the Presidents Cup including in 2011 in Melbourne.

"Since the announcement that the World
Cup of Golf was returning to a true, team format and would be played at
Kingston Heath, one of my favorite courses in the world, I have been looking
forward to teaming up with Jason to defend our 2013 title," Scott said. "I am
excited to be representing my country alongside Jason, whose recent record shows
why he is one of the most talented players in the game."

Scott World Cup of Golf History

• 2013 – 3^rd (individual), 1^st team
• 2002 – T6
• 2001 – T14

United States – Bubba Watson (No. 6 OWGR) – Has not yet selected his
partner

Nine-time PGA TOUR winner and two-time
Masters champion Bubba Watson will represent the United States in his
first-ever appearance at the World Cup of Golf. Watson, who is fresh off his
tied eighth finish at the Olympics, cited the pride in playing for the United
States as one of the reasons for committing to the World Cup of Golf.

"Anytime I can represent my country, I
get excited. It is a great honor to put on the red, white and blue," Watson
said. "I’ve been wanting to make the World Cup of Golf team for a while. I love
the team format, it is different to other events that we play and I know it
will be a great experience."

A member of the winning U.S. Presidents
Cup team when the event was played in Melbourne in 2011, Watson also shared his
love for the golf courses and the fans in Australia.

"I have visited Melbourne a couple of
times. I love going to Australia the Sandbelt courses are awesome.  They normally play super fast and you have to
be creative to play well which suits my game. The fans are great and very
enthusiastic.  Australians are huge sport
fans and that creates a special atmosphere. 
I can’t wait to get down there."

The No. 6 player in the Official World
Golf Ranking, Watson’s most recent victory is the Northern Trust Open earlier
this year at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.

England – Danny Willett (No. 10 OWGR) and Lee Westwood (No. 43 OWGR)

England’s Danny Willett closed with a
final-round, bogey-free 5-under 67 at The Masters this year to win his first
career major championship by three strokes over fellow Englishman and World Cup
of Golf teammate Lee Westwood, whom he was paired with during that final round,
and defending Masters Champion Jordan Spieth. Willet’s win at Augusta was his
second of the year, having won the European Tour’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic
in February. Willett, who represented Great Britain in golf’s return to the
Olympic Games in Rio, is one of 24 players to commit who also represented their
country as an Olympian. This will be Willett’s second appearance at the World
Cup of Golf, having played in 2013 with Chris Wood.

"It’s always great to represent your
country. You don’t get the chance to do it too often so I’m excited about
playing the World Cup. I was at Royal Melbourne in 2013, and although I didn’t
play as well as I would’ve liked, it was a cracking course and I’ve heard
Kingston Heath is just as good," Willett said. "It’s a different format this
time so I’m really looking forward to playing with Westy [Lee Westwood]. He’s
played in nine Ryder Cups and has unbelievable experience of foursomes and
fourballs, so I couldn’t have picked a better partner."  

Willett World Cup History

• 2013 – T32 (individual), T13 team

Westwood has 41 worldwide victories
between the PGA TOUR, European Tour, Asian Tour, Japan and Australasian Tour.
Despite his success around the globe, this will be the first time that Westwood
has played in the World Cup of Golf.

"I’ve never played the World Cup before
so this will be a first for me. Over the past couple of years Danny has shown
what he’s capable of and I’ve got no doubt he’s going to prove a great partner,
so I’m looking forward to pairing up with him," Westwood said. "I’ve always
enjoyed team golf. It’s an exciting format and it adds to the occasion when
you’re playing for your country, so hopefully we can bring the trophy home with
us." 

Scotland – Russell Knox (No. 19) and Duncan Stewart (No. 392)

Knox recently notched his second PGA
TOUR win with his victory at the Travelers Championship to go along with his
first TOUR victory in November at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions
in Shanghai, China. His stellar play has moved the Scot inside the top 20 in
the Official World Golf Ranking. As one of the five two-time winners on the PGA
TOUR this season, Knox is currently No. 4 in the FedExCup standings. This will
be his first time representing Scotland in the World Cup.

"I can’t wait. When I found out they
were going to play the World Cup at Kingston Heath in Australia – I’ve never
been to Australia – so it was super exciting to get the chance to go there,"
Knox said. "I’ve heard the golf course is one of the best in the world so it
will be fun. To represent Scotland is obviously a dream come true."

Duncan Stewart claimed his first
European Challenge Tour title in May at the Challenge de Madrid, as the
experienced Scot battled tricky conditions on the final day in the Spanish
capital to win by a single stroke. He has known team-mate Knox for most of his
life, the pair having grown up together in the Scottish Highlands and attended
the same University in America, Jacksonville. One of the highlights of his
collegiate career came at the 2006 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship, where
he retained his title – after beating Knox in a play-off.

Japan – Hideki Matsuyama (No. 20 OWGR) –
Has not yet
selected his partner

Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, a two-time
winner on the PGA TOUR including his playoff victory over Rickie Fowler at this
year’s Waste Management Phoenix Open. He is currently No. 20 in the Official
World Golf Ranking thanks, in part, to 6 top-10 finishes on TOUR this year
including a T4 at the U.S. PGA Championship. This is Matsuyama’s first-ever
appearance at the World Cup of Golf.

Spain – Rafa Cabrera Bello (No. 27 OWGR)
– Has not yet
selected his partner  

Cabrera Bello has come awfully close to
winning this year on the European Tour for the first time since 2012. Two
runner-up finishes and a T3 at the World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play
show how well he has played. While the two-time European Tour winner has yet to
break into the winner’s circle, his consistency has him ranked inside the top
30 at No. 27 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and virtually guaranteed him a
Ryder Cup debut at Hazeltine in September. The Spaniard has made the cut in
each of his 14 stroke play events on the European Tour this season – indeed,
his last missed cut was in October 2015. Represented Spain in the Olympic
Games, and played in the 2013 World Cup of Golf, where he finished 53^rd
in the individual competition.

World Cup History

• 2013 – 53^rd (individual), T17 team

Victoria’s Minister for Tourism and Major Events
John Eren said the World Cup of Golf shaped as one of the hottest dates on
Victoria’s calendar of major sporting events.

"We’ll be welcoming golfing royalty back to Victoria when our two stars
Adam Scott and Jason Day fly Australia’s flag against a star-studded field at
one of Australia’s very best courses, Kingston Heath.

"It’s going to be a blockbuster tournament that will attract the attention
of golf fans right around the globe. It’s a big boost to the Victorian economy,
and another chance to show the world we have the best of everything,"
Minister Eren said.

"The World Cup of Golf is one of the
most historic events in global golf," said Executive Director Matt Kamienski.
"The field is comprised of many of the game’s best players. Fans in Australia
can expect a thrilling and unique competition as we watch Jason Day and Adam
Scott in their attempt to defend their title on home soil against the likes of
players like Bubba Watson, Danny Willett and Lee Westwood and many of the other
top players. But what excites me the most about the World Cup of Golf is
watching all of the teams, those who are household names and those from areas
where golf’s popularity is just beginning to form, play with true national
pride on the line. Fans should get their tickets now and reserve their place in
being a part of one of golf’s true crown jewels."

PGA of Australia CEO, Brian Thorburn said, "Australia
is a proud sporting nation and golf holds a special place on the sporting
landscape each summer.

"Bringing the world’s best players to Australia
is a coup for our country. We hope that by having these talented athletes,
including our own World Number 1 Jason Day, on our shores will help inspire the
next generation of Aussie golfers," Mr Thorburn said.

The 2016 tournament will return to a 72-hole,
stroke play, two-man team event format. 
The first and third days of competition will be the foursomes (alternate
shot) format and the second and final days are fourball (best ball) play.

Tickets and hospitality packages starting at $30
are now available by visiting the World Cup of Golf website at www.WorldCupofGolf.com.

Full
list of confirmed players:

About the
World Cup of Golf:  The
2016 World Cup of Golf will mark the fifth time in the tournament’s history
that it will be played in Australia and the first at any course other than
Royal Melbourne.

Previous
World Cup of Golf events in Australia:

Year       Winning
Country/Players            

1959       Australia
(Peter Thomson/Kel Nagle)     

1972       Chinese
Taipei (Hsieh Min-Nan/Lu Liang-Huan)

1988       United
States (Ben Crenshaw/Mark McCumber)

2013       Australia
(Jason Day/Adam Scott)

About
Melbourne, Victoria

Voted the
world’s most liveable city for the past five years, Melbourne is a leader in
staging international sporting and cultural events, with its super-friendly
people ready to welcome World Cup of Golf visitors. The city is famed for its
laneways and cafe culture, known as Australia’s coffee capital, and is home to
vibrant arts, music and fashion scenes. Melbourne’s food credentials are
attracting global attention and the city is the gateway to Victoria, including
21 wine regions, the stunning Great Ocean Road scenic drive and abundant native
Australian wildlife. Victoria’s landscapes offer everything from international
surf beaches, islands and coastal experiences to Alpine mountain ranges and
inland lakes. Victoria is also a popular destination for domestic and
international golfing tourism, famed for its sandbelts and home to picturesque,
challenging courses that suit every ability.

Media assistance is available for World Cup
media wishing to develop destination related content, research locations for
outside broadcasts, interview local personalities and access rights free
footage. Please contact [email protected] with any requests.
Destination information is also available at www.visitmelbourne.com

About the International Federation of PGA Tours

The
International Federation of PGA Tours was formed in 1996 by golf’s five world
governing bodies – the European Tour, Japan Golf Tour Organization, PGA TOUR,
PGA Tour of Australasia and Sunshine Tour (South Africa PGA Tour) with the
purpose of providing a forum for the world’s professional golf organizations to
discuss issues of mutual importance and, together, develop and promote the game
of golf on a global basis.  As part of
its mission, the Federation initiated the World Golf Championships in 1999.  The Asian Tour joined the International
Federation of PGA Tours in November 1999.

In step
with global growth of professional golf, the International Federation of PGA
Tours announced an expansion and restructuring of its membership in 2009,
adding the International Golf Association and additional professional golf
tours, including – for the first time – women’s golf tours: China Golf
Association; Korea Professional Golfers’ Association; Professional Golf Tour of
India; LPGA Tour; Ladies European Tour; Australian Ladies Professional Golf Tour;
Japan LPGA; Korean LPGA; and Ladies Asian Golf Tour.

About the International Golf Association

The
International Golf Association (IGA) is a not-for-profit corporation, chartered
in the State of New York in 1956.  IGA is
governed by its six-member Board of Directors. 
Jonathan Linen is the IGA Board Chairman.  Through its association with the
International Federation of PGA Tours, IGA continues its international goodwill
through golf mission and looks forward to the 2016 return of the World Cup of
Golf to Melbourne and a new Sandbelt region course in historic Kingston Heath
Golf Club.