Sweden Captures 2nd World Cup of Golf: Canada T13th

The Swedes, whose only other victory was in 1991 with Per-Ulrik Johansson and Anders Forsbrand. started the day four shots behind Spain, but notched five brides on the front nine to catch their fellow Europeans with a four round total of 27-under par 261.

Canada, host country of the inaugural world championship, called the Canada Cup in 1953, was represented by Wes Heffernan of Calgary and Weyburn, Saskatchewan's Graham Delaet. The Canadian Tour veterans finished (73) tied for 13th at 11-under 277.

Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez and Pablo Larrazabal finished with a 70 -- three behind Sweden, while the Australian pair of Richard Green and Brendan Jones slumped to a 76, nine off the pace.

Ryuji Imada and Toru Taniguchi (68) of Japan also finished nine shots behind with Martin Kaymer and Alex Cjeka (73) of Germany 11 shots back.

Defending champion Scotland (72) led by Colin Montomgerie finished on 281 -- 20 shots behind. Americans Ben Curtis and Brandt Snedeker (73) were 13-under 275.

The Swedes pulled into the outright lead with birdies on Nos. 11, 12, 14 and 15 to reach 27-under -- four clear of Spain.

The key was mastering the difficult foursomes (alternate shot) format, played Friday and Sunday. In foursomes, teams play only one ball and alternate shots. Fourballs (best ball) is easier. Each golfer plays his own ball and counts the best score on each hole.

World Cup Notes:
- - -Sweden shot 67-63-130 playing foursomes and 65-66-131 playing fourball.

- - -The Swedes had two of only three players in the field ranked in the top 20. Karlsson, with two victories in Europe, won the European Tour money title this season and is ranked No. 6 in the world while Stenson, ranked 12th, is winless in individual play. "I'm starting to run out of tournaments," Stenson said. "This is my third last. So I've got two more to go in South Africa. But winning for Sweden is nice. It's been a while."

- - -All four days were played in perfect, warm conditions with a light breeze stirring through the hilly, tree-lined course designed by two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal. The rolling layout would look familiar anywhere. Only a 100-foot-high stone statue of Guanyin along the 18th fairway -- a Chinese female goddess with Buddhist origins -- suggests the club's location.

- - -The Swedes split $1.7 million in prize money, a big chunk of the $5.5 million purse. Despite the global economic downturn, the purse offered by sponsor OMEGA was 10 percent above last year.

- - -The Canadian Tour players, Heffernan and Delaet, will split $70,333 for their efforts.

- - -This year's event was the second of a 12-year contract at Mission Hills, the sprawling golf estate that boasts the world's largest layout with 216 holes.

- - -Dating from 1953, almost every great player has won the World Cup of Golf-- Palmer, Nicklaus, Hogan, Snead, Woods and Ballesteros as well as Canadians like Stan Leonard. Al Balding, George Knudson, Dan Haldorson, Dave Barr and Jim Nelford-- either individual honours or on a team.

- - -The historic event, which changed from being the Canada Cup to the World Cup of Golf in 1967, is being given an economic boost by its sponsor and Mission Hills chairman and founder Dr. David Chu, who has made the top 10 in one magazine's list of the most powerful people in golf.

1 Robert Karlsson, Henrik Stenson, Sweden 65 67 66 63 -- 261 - $1,700,000
2 Miguel Angel Jimenez, Pablo Larrazabal, Spain 64 63 67 70 -- 264 - $900,000
T3 Brendan Jones, Richard Green, Australia 63 68 63 76 -- 270 - $429,000
T3 Ryuji Imada, Toru Taniguchi, Japan 66 68 68 68 -- 270 - $429,000
5 Martin Kaymer, Alex Cejka, Germany 62 69 68 73 -- 272 - $230,000
6 Ian Poulter, Ross Fisher, England 69 74 63 67 -- 273 - $200,000
T7 Prayad Marksaeng, Thongchai Jaidee, Thailand 69 73 64 68 -- 274 - $155,000
T7 Rory Sabbatini, Richard Sterne, South Africa 70 70 67 67 -- 274 - $155,000
9 Ben Curtis, Brandt Snedeker, United States 64 69 69 73 -- 275 - $125,000
T10 Gregory Bourdy, Gregory Havret, France 68 75 62 71 -- 276 - $96,667
T10 Marciano Pucay, Angelo Que, Philippines 67 72 65 72 -- 276 - $96,667
T10 Felipe Aguilar, Mark Tullo, Chile 67 76 66 67 -- 276 - $96,667
T13 Soren Hansen, Anders Hansen, Denmark 65 75 64 73 -- 277 - $70,333
T13 Wes Heffernan, Graham Delaet, Canada 64 71 69 73 -- 277 - $70,333
T13 Tiago Cruz, Ricardo Santos, Portugal 67 73 67 70 277 $70,333
16 Graeme McDowell, Paul McGinley, Ireland 65 68 68 77 -- 278 - $64,000
T17 Jyoti Randhawa, Jeev Milkha Singh, India 67 72 70 71 - - 280 - $61,000
T17 Liang Wenchong, Zhang Lianwei, China 69 75 64 72 -- 280 - $61,000
T19 Edoardo Molinari, Francesco Molinari, Italy 70 73 64 74 -- 281 - $57,000
T19 Colin Montgomerie, Alastair Forsyth, Scotland 68 73 68 72 -- 281 - $57,000
21 Mikko Korhonen, Roope Kakko, Finland 69 70 68 75 -- 282 - $54,000
T22 David Smail, Mark Brown, New Zealand 65 75 68 75 -- 283 - $51,000
T22 Pablo Acuna, Alejandro Villavicenc, Guatemala 69 76 66 72 -- 283 - $51,000
24 Lu Wen teh and Lin Wen tang, Taiwan 68 74 69 72 -- 284 - $48,000
25 Bradley Dredge, Richard Johnson, Wales 69 77 68 71 -- 285 - $46,000
26 Kim Hyung tae, Bae Sang moon, South Korea 68 70 71 78 -- 287 - $44,000
27 Oscar Serna, Daniel DeLeon, Mexico 66 77 71 74 -- 288 - $42,000
28 Miguel Martinez, Raul Sanz, Venezuela 71 74 75 74 -- 294 - $20,000

Additional Notes
Stretching across the lush, rolling hills of Shenzhen and Dongguan in southern China, Mission Hills is China's highest rated golf club, and the largest golf club in the world according to the Guinness World Records. The property is home to 12 resort and championship courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, Pete Dye, Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Annika Sorenstam, Ernie Els, Jose Maria Olazabal, Vijay Singh, David Leadbetter, David Duval, Jumbo Ozaki and Zhang Lian Wei.

Mission Hills is a full-service, luxury resort, featuring four clubhouses, three spas, a five-star hotel, three golf academies (including schools from world renowned instructors David Leadbetter and Cindy Reid), 51 tennis courts and numerous fine dining establishments serving cuisine from around the world. It has hosted more than 50 international tournaments, including the 1995 World Cup of Golf and the Tiger Woods China Challenge in 2001. The Olazabal Course will host the Omega Mission Hills World Cup through 2018.

Mission Hills' recent awards and accolades include:

• IAGTO Golf Resort of the Year (Rest of World category)
• Best Golf Resort in China -- Asian Golf Monthly (2007)
• Pete Dye Course named the "Best New Course in Asia" -- Asian Golf Monthly (2007)
• Olazabal Course ranked the No. 2 course in China -- Asian Golf Monthly (2007)
• Dr. David Chu, Chairman of Mission Hills Group, named one of the "Most Powerful People in Golf" -- Golf Inc. (2007, 2008)
• Dr. Kenneth Chu, Vice Chairman of Mission Hills Group, named one of golf's "Most Admired Operators" -- Golf Inc. (2008)
• World Cup Course named one of the 10 "most significant and influential courses" of last 20 years -- LINKS Magazine (2008)
• Olazabal Course ranked the No. 1 resort course in Asia -- Golfing Magazine (2008)