World Number Three Luke Donald, Jhonattan Vegas and Anders Hansen confirmed that they will play in the Volvo World Match Play Championship at Finca Cortesín from May 19-22, 2011.
With all eyes on the current battle for the top spot on the Official World Golf Ranking, the Volvo World Match Play Championship marks the next time the three top ranked players in the world -Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Luke Donald - will compete in the same tournament. The tantalising prospect of the three most in-form players in the world taking each other on head to head on the glorious stage provided by Finca Cortesín underlines the global significance the Volvo World Match Play Championship now has in the player’s schedules.
They head up a stellar field which includes Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy, Paul Casey, Charl Schwartzel, Ian Poulter, Francesco Molinari, Retief Goosen, Alvaro Quirós, Miguel Angel Jiménez, Y.E. Yang, Ryan Moore, Ross Fisher, Nicolas Colsaerts, Søren Kjeldsen, Johan Edfors and Paul Lawrie.
World number three, Luke Donald, who won the Accenture Match Play Championship earlier this year and whose skill in the art of match play has been much admired in his three winning European Ryder Cups performances, said "I have had a great start to the year in the States and now I am really looking forward to returning to play in Europe. I grew up watching the World Match Play Championship at Wentworth and certainly dreamed of winning it as I watched so many of golf’s legends battle it out over the years. I love match play and it seems to suit my style of golf, so to have the possibility to hold both the WGC and the historic Volvo World Match Play Championship in the same year is a great opportunity.”
He continued, “Obviously having Lee and Martin in what is a fantastic line-up, adds some extra spice to the week with the Number One spot up for grabs and with the ‘champions league’ format I will probably end up playing against several of my Ryder Cup colleagues which will be fun. Also, I’ve heard so much about the luxurious Finca Cortesín Hotel that I can't wait to get over there to see it for myself."
Venezuelan Jhonattan Vegas, 26, who won his first US PGA Tour title at the Bob Hope Classic earlier this year is excited to be making his debut, saying, “It is a real privilege to get the chance to play in such a historic Championship and, after everything I’ve heard about Finca Cortesín, I am looking forward to playing in my first Volvo World Match Play Championship very much. It is my first time to Spain and will be my first professional event in Europe so add that to the thrill of match play and it will be a very exciting week.”
Denmark’s Anders Hansen commented, "Qualifying for the Volvo World Match Play Championship was definitely one of my goals this year. With such a strong field and only 24 places available, I was delighted to hear when I had qualified. I've had some great finishes this season but no wins yet so where better to start than at Finca Cortesín in a couple of weeks."
Per Ericsson, President of Volvo Event Management Golf, added, “We now have 21 fantastic players confirmed with the three last stars to announce next week. We are absolutely delighted with the quality of the field this year and all the buzz around the Number One Ranking certainly adds to the excitement of the week.”
Guy Kinnings, Managing Director of IMG Golf, EMEA concluded, “The date, qualification and format changes have all been extremely well received by the players and all the ingredients are in place for a thrilling 46th edition of the Volvo World Match Play Championship at Finca Cortesín. Working with our partners Volvo, Finca Cortesín and the European Tour, I believe we have really moved this great Championship forward while preserving its heritage.”
On arrival at Finca Cortesín in May the players will be divided into eight groups of three players to be played out on Thursday and Friday with 16 players progressing to Saturday in a knock-out format with the semis and final played on Sunday.
The prize fund for the 2011 Championship has increased to €3.4 million with a first prize of €800,000, the highest on the European Tour outside of the Majors, World Golf Championship events and the Dubai World Golf Championship.
For more information please visitwww.volvoworldmatchplay.com
