The 18 seeded teams competing in the 2008 Omega Mission Hills Golf World Cup have been revealed with Scotland, represented by Alastair Forysth and Colin Montgomerie, set to defend the title.
The United States, winners of 24 times in the Cup history, is yet to announce their players, while the host Chinese team will name its players later next week. A total of 34 players from 28 teams are set to compete in the annual event.
Scotland is seeking to win back-to-back titles in the 5.5 million U.S. competition at the Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen, China, schedudled from November 27 to 30 with Montgomerie looking to retain the trophy he and Marc Warren claimed last year after beating the U.S team in?a playoff.
Montgomerie said: "I am really looking forward to being part of the team to defend Scotland's World Cup title. Alastair will be a great partner and I really hope we can enjoy the success that Marc Warren and I enjoyed last year. I thoroughly enjoy matchplay so will be looking forward to the week very much."
Sweden is the highest ranked team in the field, represented by world No.7 Henrik Stenson, who will be partnered by world No. 17 Robert Karlsson, winner of last week's Mercedes-Benz Championship.
England will send Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher to challenge the other teams.
Spain, looking to claim the first victory since 1984, will send Miguel Angel Jimenez and Pablo Larrazabal, while five times winners South Africa is represented by Rory Sabbatini and Richard Sterne.
Ireland, which first won the World Cup 50 years ago, will bid for a first win since 1997, with Graeme McDowell and Paul McGinley in the team.
Germany, twice winners of the tournament, will attempt to win a third World Cup with Martin Kaymer teaming up with Alex Cejka, while 2005 winners Wales will also try to seal a third win, represented by Bradley Dredge and Richard Johnson.
Four times winner Australia, represented by Richard Green and Brendan Jones, is also a strong power in the field.
The remaining nine teams will be determined in the qualifiers in Europe, Asia and South America.
Following are the teams which have announced their players:
Australia (Richard Green/Brendan Jones)
Chile (Felipe Aquilar/Mark Tullo)
Denmark (Hansen/Anders Hansen)
England (Ian Poulter/Ross Fisher)
France (Gregory Havret/Gregory Bourdy)
Germany (Martin Kaymer/Alex Cejka)
India (Jeev M Singh/Jyoti Randhawa)
Ireland (Graeme McDowell/Paul McGinley)
Japan (Ryuji Imada/Toru Taniguchi)
New Zealand (Mark Brown/David Smail)
Scotland (Alastair Forysth/Colin Montgomerie)
South Africa (Rory Sabbatini/Richard Sterne)
Spain (Miguel Angel Jiménez/Pablo Larrazabal)
Sweden (Henrik Stenson/Robert Karlsson)
Chinese Taipei (Wen-Tang Lin/Wen-Teh Lu)
Thailand (Prayad Marksaeng/Thongchai Jaidee)
Wales (Bradley Dredge/Richard Johnson)
(Xinhua News Agency September 18, 2008)
