With the Rugby and Cricket World Cups having gripped the nation of late, it’s easy to forget that golf has had its own World Cup, although interest in it has long since faded, writes BRENDAN BARRATT.
The event, which began its life in 1953 as the Canada Cup, officially became known as the World Cup of Golf in 1967.
An esteemed list of players, such as Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Colin Montgomerie, have all been able to call themselves world champions over the years.
Yet not even a champions list as prestigious as this has been enough to save the event, as over time it began to draw fewer and fewer marquee names.
The 2018 World Cup, played at Royal Melbourne and won by the Belgian pairing of Thomas Detry and Thomas Pieters, proved to be its swansong.
Thankfully, we will always have the memories of what once was a highly anticipated event, played across the globe.
Here are some of the highlights.
1956: Wentworth, UK
Winners: USA
The superstar American pairing of Sam Snead and Ben Hogan simply outclassed the remaining 28 nations, winning by an impressive 14 strokes. Canada led the way after the first two rounds, with South Africa’s own star pairing of Gary Player and Bobby Locke very much in the hunt, but a final-round combined score of 136 by the Americans saw them canter home ahead of the South African duo.
1960: Portmarnock, Ireland
Winners: USA
The 1960 event was the first time that Arnold Palmer made his way into the winners’ circle – alongside Sam Snead – but it certainly wouldn’t be the last. The pair raced to an eight-stroke victory over England on the Dublin links track, although Belgian Flory van Donck grabbed the individual title. Palmer would go on to win the Canada Cup/World Cup six times, playing alongside Snead (twice), Jimmy Demaret and Jack Nicklaus (three times). Nicklaus himself was no slouch, also taking the title on six occasions.
1965: Madrid, Spain
Winners: South Africa
South Africa broke a five-year winning streak for the Americans when the pair of Gary Player and Harold Henning won the 1965 Canada Cup in Madrid by eight strokes over the hosts. The USA came in third. Player took home the individual title, too, edging Nicklaus by three shots.
1974: Caracas, Venezuela
Winners: South Africa
The World Cup ventured to Venezuela for the 1974 edition and the South African team of Bobby Cole (26) and Dale Hayes (22) became the youngest pairing to win the title, beating Japan by five strokes. Cole was simply unstoppable, recording a five-stroke win in the individual competition as well, with Hayes finishing tie-fourth.
1977: Manila, Philippines
Winners: Spain
The Spanish team, led by the irrepressible Seve Ballesteros, successfully defended its title as the World Cup found its way to the delightfully named Wack Wack Golf & Country Club. The Philippines team made the most of local knowledge to finish second, just two strokes back. Gary Player once again claimed individual honours.
1992: Madrid, Spain
Winners: USA
The USA winning the World Cup of Golf was becoming a common sight, but the 38th edition of the tournament signalled the start of a remarkable run for two US players in particular. For four straight years the pairing of Davis Love III and Fred Couples would emerge victorious – by one stroke in 1992, five shots in 1993, and 14 strokes in both 1994 and 1995.
1996: Cape Town, South Africa
Winners: South Africa
The South African pair of Ernie Els and Wayne Westner was utterly dominant on home soil, combining to shoot 29 under par at Erinvale, and securing an 18-stroke victory. To rub salt into the wound, Els won the individual title by three strokes from – you guessed it – Westner.
2000: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Winners: USA
Blessed with the two best golfers on the planet at the time, the USA team claimed win No 23 as Tiger Woods and David Duval edged home favourites Argentina by three strokes. This was also the first year the event was accredited World Golf Championship status.
2001: Shizuoka, Japan
Winners: South Africa
In the most thrilling finish to a World Cup yet, South Africa – represented by Ernie Els and Retief Goosen – prevailed in a playoff against the USA (Duval and Woods), Denmark (Thomas Bjorn and Soren Hansen) and New Zealand (Michael Campbell and David Smail).
2003: Kiawah Island, USA
Winners: South Africa
While both players would go on to achieve great things – Trevor Immelman won The Masters in 2008 and Rory Sabbatini won an Olympic silver medal, albeit for Slovakia – they were hardly expected to be a force at the 2003 World Cup. Yet the pair combined for a four-stroke victory and South Africa’s fourth World Cup title.
2013: Melbourne, Australia
Winners: Australia
By now the World Cup of Golf, essentially a strokeplay event with a team component, was starting to wane. Just four players inside the top 30 in the world teed it up at Royal Melbourne – and two of those were from the host country. Jason Day won the strokeplay event and Adam Scott joined him for the team win, but it was clear that the event was sadly no longer the attraction it used to be.
– This article first appeared in the December 2023 issue of Compleat Golfer magazine.
