Super Sweden scoop World Cup title

It really makes you wonder, doesn’t it…

Had Nick Faldo paired these two up for the Ryder Cup, Europe may well have been celebrating a fourth consecutive win.

But anyway, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson enjoyed a sensational round of golf in the final round of the World Cup, securing a memorable win in the process.

The Scandinavian duo birdied the first hole and added eight more without dropping a shot.

Sweden finished with a 9-under-par 63 in alternate-shot play to beat Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez and Pablo Larrazabal by three strokes. The Spanish pair hit a final round score of 70, a disappointing finale from the two who had looked set to secure the title heading into the final day.

England came sixth overall, carding 273 over the four rounds, 12 shots off the Swedes.

World Cup of Golf set to begin

Colin Montgomerie returns to Mission Hills in China where Scotland defend their World Cup of Golf title this weekend.

The 45-year-old looked in decent shape for two days during last week’s Hong Kong Open where he opened with rounds of 68 and 65 en-route to posting a top-20 finish.

After 54 years of disappointment, Scotland finally got their hands on the prestigious trophy 12 months ago when they fended off the United States in a play-off.

Over the previous half-century Scotland had finished second a remarkable six times but shrugged off the tag of bridesmaid to claim the $1.6m first prize.

Whether or not the Scots can claim back to back wins remains to be seen, but it won’t be easy.

Let’s take a look at some of the runners and riders…

 England: England are represented by Ryder Cup hero Ian Poulter and World Cup debutant Ross Fisher. Undoubtedly this is one of the strongest pairings of the event with both players showing some decent recent form. England are a best price of 5/1 with Sportingbet. 

 Sweden: The Swedes have an arguably even stronger team with two Ryder Cup players in Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson. Karlsson won the final European Order Of Merit with a brilliant run of form towards the end of last season and Stenson has a great record in this event finishing 2nd in 2005 and 3rd in 2006. The Swedish team are 4/1 with Totesport, Stan James and Canbet.

 Germany: The two-time winners have a solid partnership in Martin Kaymer and Alex Cejka. Germany, champions in 2006, have posted five straight top-eight finishes in the event. Sky Bet are offering odds of 16/1 for the Germans to lift the cup.

 Scotland: Reigning champions Scotland have gone for a change in half of the personnel on show with Alastair Forsyth replacing Marc Warren in partnership with Scottish stalwart Colin Montgomerie, who is playing in the event for the tenth time. If you fancy Scotland to retain the title then you will be rewarded with odds of 25/1 from Paddy Power. 

 India: The Asians will field Jyoti Randhawa, an excellent player who has seven victories on the Asian Tour to his name and Jeev Milka Singh who has two victories on the European Tour, including the Bank of Austria Open in 2008. 22/1 with Bet365 looks good value about this team who both have winning experience in Asia. 

 Denmark: Close friends Soren and Anders Hansen will be hoping to improve on last year’s 10th place finish. But do they have enough in the bag to produce the win? Odds of 11/1 with Sky Bet are probably worth an each way punt.

 United States: The most prolific nation in World Cup history has not won the trophy for eight years – their longest wait ever. However, they must not be discounted and in Ben Curtis and Brandt Snedeker have put together a pairing more than capable of lifting the title for a 24th time. The US are a decent value bet at 12/1 with Bet365.

The Caddy’s tip // Get behind those English boys!

Watch all four days of the Omega Mission Hills World Cup on Sky Sports.
Live coverage starts on Thursday from 3.30am on Sky Sports 1.