Follow us on Facebook[simage=542,512,n,center,]The Volvo World Match Play Championship is set for a new date in 2011 and will be held 19th to 22nd May, 2011 at Finca Cortesin Hotel in Southern Spain.
Securing a new permanent date for the Championship has been at the very heart of Monday’s announcement. With the global schedule becoming ever more congested in the Autumn months the aim is that the Volvo World Match Play will now be the sole dominant European Tour event played in the new date.
The 16 man field will also be increased to allow 24 of the world’s best players to compete. The prize fund for the 2011 Championship increases to €3.4 million with a first prize of €800,000, the highest on the European Tour outside of the Majors, World Golf Championship events and the Dubai World Golf Championship.
Eight groups of 3 on the round robin will play till Saturday morning with quarter final that same evening while semi-finals and final will be played on Sunday to 18 holes.
Spain’s Sergio Garcia was delighted to hear the news and hopes he will be able to include the tournament in his schedule, commenting, “It is great news that the Volvo World Match Play Championship has secured this key date in the schedule. Last year’s tournament was fantastic – Finca Cortesin provided a wonderfully dramatic backdrop for some thrilling match ups. Spain’s wonderful golf facilities were proudly shown around the world in doing such a wonderful job in hosting this historic tournament for the first time. I think we all enjoyed the ‘champions league’ style groupings and I believe that the increased field and amended format in 2011 will make for an even more thrilling Championship.”