While it remains to be seen what kind of field will travel to Australia in November for this year’s World Cup, officials announced on Wednesday that the event has landed a new title sponsor.
ISPS Handa, a charitable foundation founded by philanthropist Haruhisa Handa, has agreed to sponsor the event, which will be played Nov. 21-24 at Royal Melbourne. No further details of the deal were given.
The deadline for qualifying for this year’s event is Sept. 23 and will include a slightly new selection process.
Countries with up to four players within the top 15 in the World Ranking on Sept. 23 can send all four to the World Cup. Conversely, a country with just one player who qualifies could send just that player to compete.
This year’s World Cup will feature an individual competition as well as a team component that will be determined via an aggregate score, a move that should allow more countries to compete in the event.