Patriotism fuels the teams in World Cup this week

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The highest ranked team in the field -- Sweden's Henrik Stenson (right) and Robert Karlsson -- displayed good matchplay chemistry at the Ryder Cup this year.

SHENZHEN, China -- Honor and pride will drive the players from 28 nations toward glory at this week's OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup in China, with the 2008 European Tour and current Asian Tour No. 1s leading the way.

Robert Karlsson, the first Swede to win the Harry Vardon Trophy as Europe's leading money winner, and India's Jeev Milkha Singh, who looks assured of winning the Asian Tour Order of Merit, are two of the many leading players from around world competing over the spectacular José Maria Olazábal designed course on the Mission Hills complex.

The American team consists of former Open Championship winner Ben Curtis and Brandt Snedeker.

The two-man teams will play two rounds of foursomes and two of fourball to determine who will have the honor of lifting the famous World Cup trophy.

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Colin Montgomerie (left) is hoping to find the same chemistry he had with his partner last year, Marc Warren (right), and successfully defend with new partner Alastair Forsyth.

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Scotland, represented by Colin Montgomerie and a new partner in Alastair Forsyth, will launch their defense of the title in the company of China, with Liang Wen-chong and Zhang Lian-wei again flying the flag for the home nation.

A total of 18 exempt nations and nine further countries, who emerged through qualifiers in Asia, Europe and Latin America, join the host nation for the second OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup after the relaunch of the prestigious team championship 12 months ago.

First played as the Canada Cup in 1953 and renamed the World Cup in 1967, the championship entered a new era last year following the agreement, which brought the prestige watch maker OMEGA together with Mission Hills. The OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup is set to continue in China through 2018.

Scotland waited 54 years to savor World Cup success when Montgomerie and Marc Warren edged out the United States in a dramatic play-off.

Now, Montgomerie joins forces with Forsyth, who played in the World Cup between 2002 and 2004 but is partnered with the eight-time European Tour Order of Merit winner for the first time.

"I am really looking forward to partnering Monty for the first time" said Forsyth. "I love the sense of pride and honor which you can only get from representing your country, and I know that Colin and myself will be putting all our energy into trying to retain that magnificent trophy at Mission Hills. The pressure is on us as defending champions, but I am confident we will give a good account of ourselves."

Montgomerie, who filled a gap on his illustrious CV with the win last year, reflected on that victory in China by saying: "It was fantastic. It took a long time for Scotland to win the World Cup - since 1953 in fact - so winning in the playoff at Mission Hills was a wonderful feeling.

"Scotland was the only one of the four British nations never to have won the World Cup, so winning last year was very, very special. I am looking forward immensely to defending the title with Alastair this time around."

The Chinese team feels confident it can improve on last year's 11th place finish and build on the success of the Olympic Games in Beijing, further helping the growth of the game in its home country.

Zhang, the flag bearer for Chinese golf for more than a decade, and a native of Shenzhen, said: "In 1995, the World Cup was held in our country for the first time, and the game was still very new then. Last year, I returned after 12 years, and it felt really good. Playing with Liang was a great experience for us.

"It was amazing to see the number of spectators who turned up to watch the event, which is good for golf in China. It will help boost the interest of the game and encourage more people to take up the sport.

"I am looking forward to another huge turnout this year, which will motivate us to play well," added Zhang.

Sweden will start the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup as the favorite with the two highest ranked players in the field. Karlsson, who won twice in the 2008 season on his way to finishing European No. 1, is ranked sixth in the world and partner, Henrik Stenson, is ranked 11th in the world.

The pair teamed up well in the Ryder Cup earlier this year at Valhalla during the Saturday fourball matches, and with the two friends both enjoying such good form, they can bring more World Cup success to Sweden.

From Asia, the Indian team is looking particularly strong this year with Jeev Milkha Singh making his World Cup debut in the company of Jyoti Randhawa. Singh's recent victory in the Barclays Singapore Open followed other successes in Europe and Japan this year and helped him climb back into the top 50 in the world. The winner of the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2006 is virtually assured of winning that title again this year and would like nothing better than to cap off the year with another world class performance.

Last week's winners are also in action with Lin Wen-Tang, who claimed a spectacular victory in the 50th UBS Hong Kong Open, representing Chinese Taipei alongside Lu Wen-teh. Prayad Marksaeng, who won the Dunlop Phoenix on the Japan Golf Tour, will be partnering with Thongchai Jaidee for the Thai team.

New Zealand and France will have the honor of getting the 2008 OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup underway as the first group out and in keeping with the best traditions of the International Golf Federation of PGA Tours -- founded to foster international goodwill through golf -- other groupings include that of Venezuela with 2006 champions Germany, Philippines and Ireland paired together and Mexico and England. Scotland and China, as holders and hosts respectively,will fittingly tee off last on first day.