World Cup fails to inspire top stars

The USA have had to go to their sixth highest-ranked player Arron Oberholser to find someone willing to play in golf's World Cup in China in November.

Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson all turned down the chance to play, but Oberholser then accepted the invitation and has chosen Sean O'Hair to partner him.

It is a similar story for several other countries.

Nick O'Hern will represent Australia with a partner yet to be named after Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy, Aaron Baddeley and Richard Green all declined the opportunity.

Sweden and South Africa have both had to go to their third-ranked players Robert Karlsson and Retief Goosen with Henrik Stenson, Niclas Fasth, Ernie Els and Rory Sabbatini all rejecting the tournament.

Luke Donald has done the same, which means Justin Rose and Ian Poulter will play for England, and Open champion Padraig Harrington's decision not to play the World Cup - as well as next week's Seve Trophy - has left Ireland needing to qualify in Malaysia next week.

That is because Ireland have nobody else in the world's top 100 at the moment, but who plays in the qualifier has yet to be announced.

Fiji, South Korea and Colombia have also missed out on an exempt place in the event because their leading players Vijay Singh, KJ Choi and Camilo Villegas have all turned it down.

The beneficiaries of that are Austria and India. China also qualify, although as hosts they were certain of a place in any case.

Spaniard Sergio Garcia, Argentina's US Open champion Angel Cabrera and German Bernhard Langer, who won the title with Marcel Siem last December, are among others to decline.

Martin Kaymer and Alex Cejka will defend the title for Germany, while Colin Montgomerie and Marc Warren, who lost a play-off in Barbados, will try to go one better for Scotland.

Bradley Dredge and Stephen Dodd, winners two years ago, represent Wales once more.