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You have to go down the rankings to find an American who wants to represent his country at this year’s World Cup of Golf.
Way down the rankings.
The United States will be represented at the event – taking place in Melbourne from November 21-25 – by Kyle Stanley.
The world No.27 has invited Matt Kuchar, the current world No.32, to be his teammate in the 59th edition of the once-prestigious championship.
The 72-hole strokeplay event features two-man teams from 28 nations. The top-ranked player for each eligible country qualifies automatically and is then allowed to choose any other player from the top 500 of the Official World Golf Ranking to join them.
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Qualification ended on September 3. As the then world No.1, Dustin Johnson had first refusal for the USA but passed on the opportunity.
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So, too, did: Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Patrick Reed, Tony Finau, Webb Simpson, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.
That’s right… Kyle Stanley was the 15th pick for the USA
It’s hard to see this as anything other than a sad indicator of just how far this tournament has fallen. Founded by Canadian industrialist John Jay Hopkins, it started life in 1953 as the Canada Cup, changing its name to the World Cup in 1967.
It was incorporated into the World Golf Championships from 2000 until 2006.
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In 2010, it was announced that the tournament would be staged biennially. It took place most recently in 2016, with Danish duo Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen running out the winners.
The US has a proud history in the competition, having won it a record 24 times. That includes a record four victories for two separate US combinations: Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, and Fred Couples and Davis Love III. The most recent win for the United States came in 2011 when Kuchar teamed up with Gary Woodland to take the title.
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