Watchmaker Omega, title sponsor of the Mission Hills World Cup, does not believe China is a suitable venue to host the biennial event.
Omega president Stephen Urquhart said Sunday he was unhappy with both the field strength, as well as holding the event in China - a market he deemed incapable of handling the event.
‘China is too immature a market to put the World Cup where it should be. It’s too early for China to support by itself a tournament on this scale,’ Urquhart said, according to AFP.
Urquhart desires to see the tournament move around the globe, as does the World Cup in other sports. The event has been held in China since 2007, when the event was dropped from the World Golf Championships lineup.
Brothers Kenneth and Tenniel Chu, developers of the Mission Hills resort on Hainan Island, say they plan to honor a contract to host the World Cup at the resort through 2025.
Urquhart feels, however, that the event needs to be retooled to attract better players. A change in format, akin to the Olympic tournament to be played in 2016, could improve the field.
‘If a World Cup of golf is done properly, sold properly and packaged properly, no one would ever go and play in another tournament,’ he said.
Six of the top 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking competed in the event.