The top 28 countries have officially qualified for the 2018 ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf based on the Official World Golf Ranking for the week of 3 September.

The rankings were finalised on 4 September following the conclusion of the PGA TOUR’s Dell Technologies Championship, which traditionally concludes on Monday.

The ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf, set to be contested 21-25 November 2018 at The Metropolitan Golf Club, will feature two-man teams from the top 28 nations based on the Official World Golf Ranking. The 59^th staging of the event will see the 56-player field vie for the largest prize purse in Australian golf, with $US7 million on offer.

The top-ranked player from each of the top 28 countries has until 5 p.m. USA eastern time on Thursday, 13 September to commit to the ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf. If the top-ranked player elects not to commit, the option will be passed to the next highest-ranked player from that country based on the Official World Golf Ranking.

Qualified Countries

1. United States
2. England
3. Spain
4. Italy
5. Ireland
6. Australia
7. Sweden
8. Japan
9. South Africa
10. Thailand
11. Denmark
12. Korea
13. China
14. Argentina
15. Canada
16. Scotland
17. Belgium
18. New Zealand
19. Venezuela
20. France
21. Austria
22. India
23. Netherlands
24. Chinese Taipei
25. Finland
26. Mexico
27. Germany
28. Chile

Alternates: 1. Zimbabwe

2. Paraguay

3. Malaysia

4. Wales

5. Greece

Alternate countries can potentially qualify if the top-ranked player from one of the qualified 28 countries does not commit, and the next highest-ranked player is lower in the rankings than a player from an alternate country.

For instance, if Canada’s Adam Hadwin does not commit to the event, the next eligible player from Canada is Graham DeLaet, who is ranked No. 260. Since Scott Vincent from Zimbabwe is ranked higher than DeLaet, Vincent and Zimbabwe would then take over Canada’s position as one of the 28 countries qualified.

Once all 28 countries have their committed player, that player has until the following Thursday, 20 September at 5 p.m. USA eastern time to pick his partner. The full field of 56 players will be announced at that time.

The ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf is one of five tournaments that are co-sanctioned by the International Federation of PGA Tours, joining the four events in the World Golf Championships series as tournaments which the Federation oversees. The International Federation of PGA Tours is an organization made up of all Tours from across the globe including the PGA TOUR, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, the ISPS HANDA PGA of Australasia, the Asian Tour and Sunshine Tour (South Africa PGA Tour).

Tickets are now on sale and ticket options range from Wednesday practice round tickets starting at $16.00, single-day competitive round tickets starting at $24.00 and tickets to the upgraded MacKenzie Club (Thurs-Sun) starting at $80.00. Weekly tickets are also available for $96, with a MacKenzie Club option priced at $295. Fans are encouraged to secure their tickets early in order to save.

Ticket buyers are reminded that youth under the age of 16 are admitted to the event free of charge when accompanied by a ticketed adult. To purchase tickets or find more information on ticket options, fans can log on to www.WorldCupofGolf.com.

The International Federation of PGA Tours announced today that the player eligibility criteria for the 2018 Melbourne World Cup of Golf has been confirmed, as anticipation builds to the unique international teams’ event return to the famed Melbourne Sandbelt region November 22-25, 2018 at The Metropolitan Golf Club.

The Melbourne World Cup of Golf will feature two-players from the top 28 nations on the world golf rankings. The 59th staging of the event will see the 56-player field vie for the largest prizemoney purse in Australian golf, with $US7 million on offer.

The makeup of the 28-team (56 players) field is as follows:

• Top 28 available countries from the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) as of September 3, 2018.

• The top ranked player may pick any player from the same country within the top 500 on the OWGR, or if there are less than five players to choose from within the top 500, may extend the range of possible choices to be at least 5 players (and any ties) even if ranked outside 500.

• The deadline for the exempt players to commit is 5 p.m. USA eastern time Thursday, September 13, 2018.

• The deadline for the exempt player to select his partner is 5p.m. USA eastern time Thursday, September 20, 2018.

The tournament format will be a 72-hole stroke play team event with each team comprised of two players. The first and third rounds will be Four-ball (best ball) play and the second and final rounds will be Foursomes (alternate shot) play.

The 2018 event will mark the third-consecutive playing of the World Cup of Golf in the Melbourne Sandbelt region. In 2016, Danes Søren Kjeldsen and Thorbjørn Olesen shot a final-round 66 in foursomes at Kingston Heath to win Denmark’s first World Cup of Golf title by four strokes over the United States, China and France. Aussies Adam Scott and Jason Day were victorious at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club in 2013.

The 2018 Melbourne World Cup of Golf will mark the sixth time in the tournament’s history that it will be played in Australia, which is the second-most all-time behind the United States (11).

Widely regarded as one of the finest championship courses in Australia, The Metropolitan Golf Club shares a common origin with The Royal Melbourne Golf Club in 1891, and consistently enjoys a reputation as one of the best-conditioned and most beautiful courses in the country.  The Metropolitan Golf Club’s rich tournament history includes the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play (2001), Men’s Australian Open, (1930, 1936, 1951, 1979, 1986, 1993, 1997), Australian PGA Championship (1930, 1936, 1951, 1966, 1968), Women’s Australian Open (2009) and the Australian Masters (2014).