Álvaro Quirós and Rafa Cabrera-Bello will compete alongside major winners in the Volvo World Match Play Championship at Finca Cortesín. The tournament will be played from May 17 to 20 at the spectacular Casares course in Malaga. The 24 participants will be announced next week. The Spaniards will face Darren Clarke, reigning British Open champion, and Paul Lawrie, predecessor in the list of winners in the 99 edition; their great friend Martin Kaymer, who won the US PGA in 2010; and Retief Goosen, double US Open champion.
Among the 24 players who will compete in one of the most historic tournaments of the European Tour, which celebrates its 47th edition and third in Spain, include defending champion Ian Poulter and his close friend Justin Rose, world number ten, who appears for the first time in Europe since he was proclaimed winner in the first tournament of the World Series earlier this season. Peter Hanson, third in the Masters of Augusta and first Swede in the World Ranking, has also confirmed his presence in Finca Cortesin.
According to the new format of the Volvo World Match Play, which is played under the most attractive and preferred by the players, they will be divided into eight groups of three and will play against each other on Thursday and Friday. The top two of each group, 16 players, will qualify for the round of 16 and quarterfinals on Saturday, while the semifinal and final will be decided on Sunday.
Álvaro QuirósThe 29-year-old from Cadiz, who has six European Tour titles and one Challenge title to his name (Alfred Dunhill Championship 2007 in South Africa, Portugal Masters 2008, Qatar Masters 2009, Open de España 2010, Omega Dubai Dessert Classic and Dubai World Championship 2011), was delighted with the good news: “I am very happy, I am going to play the Volvo World Match Play for the second time and I hope to do a little better than last year, when I lost to my great friend Martin Kaymer in the quarter-finals. I’m glad that Rafa Cabrera has also qualified, and I encourage all the fans to come and support us, as we’ll need it in the midst of all the big tournaments.
Rafa Cabrera-Bello, 27, has two victories on the European Tour: in 2009 he won the Austrian Open and in February he won the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. He also has two other Challenge Tour titles: Credit Suisse 2008 and Man No Open 2006. This will be Rafa’s first participation in the Volvo World Match Play Championship.
Germany’s Martin Kaymer, ranked sixth in the world, has also expressed his satisfaction with the return to Finca Cortesín, “an amazing place that excites me. The hotel, the course and the players contribute to the fact that every year I reserve this date in my calendar. I am sure it will be another very special week. Last year I lost in the semifinals to Luke Donald, so I hope to improve. The tournament will have even more relevance this time, as we are in a Ryder Cup year, and also with a Spanish captain”.
Per Ericsson, President of Volvo Event Management: “It will be interesting to see in the coming weeks who qualifies for the last available spots, among others the champion of the Volvo China Open. We will see what the two major European Tour tournaments around the corner have in store for Volvo in Golf. Next week we will announce the rest of the players to complete the 24”.
Guy Kinnings, Deputy International Managing Director of IMG Golf: “This year we are once again having a stellar participation in the Volvo World Match Play Championship. Together with our partners, Volvo, Finca Cortesin and the European Tour, I believe we have succeeded in making this historic tournament a must-attend event for players, confident that it will once again be a great week in the wonderful setting of Finca Cortesin.”
Vicente Rubio, General Manager of Finca Cortesín: “We look forward to welcoming this great group of winners to Finca Cortesín. We have everything ready, and the course is in fantastic condition, to celebrate the third Spanish edition of the Volvo World Match Play Championship.
Tickets for the Volvo World Match Play Championship
Tickets to enjoy the game of the great champions at Finca Cortesin are available for sale on-line:
English: http://www.golfinspain.com/esp/volvoworldmatchplay/entradas/
Español: http://www.golfinspain.com/eng/volvoworldmatchplay/tickets/
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