The 57th World Cup of golf tees off tomorrow at Kingston Heath, with 14 of the world’s top 20 missing.
The absent names include Jason Day (1), Rory McIlroy (2), Dustin Johnson (3), Henrik Stenson (4), Jordan Spieth (5), Patrick Reed (8), Bubba Watson (10), Danny Willett (11), Paul Casey (13), Justin Rose (14), Sergio Garcia (15), Branden Grace (16), Phil Mickelson (17), and Matt Kuchar (20).
Only Hideki Matsuyama (6), Adam Scott (7), Alex Noren (9), Rickie Fowler (12), Russell Knox (18), and Jimmy Walker (19) will be starters.
So what’s the problem? Is it the time of the year?
Is it the southern hemisphere venue, when the greater bulk of the world’s best golfers are from the north?
Or are the world’s best just too bloody precious, having earned millions during the year and it’s time to wind down for Christmas?
Day has a genuine excuse, nursing a chronic back injury that could be career-threatening.
He did intend to play the Australian Open last week, and the World Cup this week, but his medicos banned that. Day won’t pick up a club until 2017.
McIlroy, Johnson, Stenson, Spieth, Casey, Rose, Garcia, Jones, Mickelson, and Kuchar have no excuses, except lack of interest.
But every one of them would be there in a flash for Ryder or Presidents Cups, with no prize money.
Spieth is in a different category. He was in Sydney last Sunday, winning his second Australian Open in a first-hole play-off with Cameron Smith and Ash Hall.
Reed and Bubba are two Americans quite happy to tour often, but not this time, while Willett pleads a back injury, having played four rounds to last Sunday at Dubai.
So it’s a poor turnout for an $US8 million tournament, representing your own country.
Australia’s the defending champion from Royal Melbourne two years ago, with Day and Scott, so with Day out injured, Marc Leishmann takes over.
The Americans will take some beating with Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker, as will Japan with Hideki Matsyyama and Ryo Ishikawa.
England was originally going to be represented by Willett and Lee Westwood, but both pulled the coat at the last minute. That’s poor form from the Englishmen.
Tomorrow it will be Chris Wood and Andy Sullivan, who will prove to be a far better combination.
There are two smokeys in the field – New Zealand and Spain.
Danny Lee and Ryan Fox will be on duty for the Kiwis, while Rafa Cabrera-Bello and Jon Rahn will be right in the finish for the Spaniards.
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