Montgomerie and Warren renew Partnership

Colin Montgomerie and Marc Warren, winners of the Omega Mission Hills World Cup last year, are already targeting a sentimental return to China to defend the title after recalling the sense of honour and pride in lifting the prestigious trophy for Scotland for the first time in the event’s 54 year history. The pair did Scotland proud last November when they beat the American team of Heath Slocum and Boo Weekley at the third extra hole of a sudden-death play-off, to secure a first World Cup success for Scotland following six runners-up finishes in the event. Montgomerie is the most prolific British winner in European Tour history with eight Order of Merit titles to his name, and has holed the winning putt in The Ryder Cup and led Scotland to victory in the Alfred Dunhill Cup, but even against all those achievements, the Omega Mission Hills World Cup triumph stands out for him. "I have won all over the world, but that win with Marc was special, particularly as we were representing Scotland,” recalled Montgomerie. “I have won the Alfred Dunhill Cup for Scotland and now the World Cup for Scotland. I really wanted to do that as we had not won the World Cup before so it was a wonderful achievement. “To win the inaugural event is always special. I know the history and tradition of the World Cup and the old Canada Cup is back again but under Omega and Mission Hills it was like a new event and to win the first one was fantastic.” For Warren, the victory over the José Maria Olazábal Course at Mission Hills capped a superb season during which he won his second European Tour event by claiming the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, but even that win in front of his home gallery was overshadowed by the Omega Mission Hills World Cup success. “It’s great to be a world champion,” said Warren. “It’s a great honour. Anytime you represent your country and win an event such as this, it is extremely special. “The reaction back home after we won was incredible. It was the biggest reaction to anything I have won before. It was obviously not just an individual win, but the country going out there and it felt like the whole of Scotland got behind us.” It also made up for the heartache the previous year when Scotland lost out in a play-off against the German pairing of Bernhard Langer and Marcel Siem in Barbados. “We knew we could win having gone so close the year before, losing in a play-off, so perhaps there was an extra bit of determination,” added Warren. “We found ourselves in the same situation and it would have been a difficult pill to swallow for the second time. Coming through was great as we knew how disappointing it was before. I initially didn’t realise how big the event was, but when we finished second in 2006 everyone was talking about the World Cup, so to go out a year later and win was fantastic.” Now both players are already looking ahead to the end of the year, determined to retain their places on the Scottish team and defend their title at the magnificent Mission Hills Resort. “Omega and Mission Hills have given the World Cup a new lease of life,” commented Montgomerie. “They have another 11 years ahead of them, have put a lot of money into it, and that is super. Now it is no longer part of the World Golf Championships, it can be run more individually and Mission Hills is a first class resort, it’s incredible. I am looking forward to playing there again.” Warren was similarly impressed with the fresh impetus generated by Omega and Mission Hills. “The partnership between Mission Hills and Omega is fantastic,” said Warren. “There is no other place like Mission Hills in the world. We stayed in the hotel on site and we were still a 20 minute drive from the golf course which gives you some idea of the scale of things. To have 12 world class golf courses in one resort is quite incredible. And the partnership with Omega, a company with a world class reputation, is very good for the game.” The 2007 Omega Mission Hills World Cup launched a new and exciting era in the history of the event first played in 1953 as the Canada Cup. The event is set to continue through 2018, and most probably beyond, at Mission Hills following the signing of an agreement which brought the prestige watch manufacturer Omega together with the Club which introduced the game of golf to China by first hosting the World Cup in 1995. John Jay Hopkins, the noted Canadian industrialist, brought to reality a dream that golf could promote goodwill between nations with the inaugural World Cup played in Montreal in 1953 then called the Canada Cup and re-titled The World Cup in 1967. The International Federation of PGA Tours will, as custodians, oversee the 54th edition of the event as it unfolds the year of the staging in Beijing of the Olympic Games at which Omega has a unique role as Official Timekeeper.