/world sport
LONDON, England -- The number of teams competing in golf's Omega World Cup in China on November 22-25 has been increased from 24 to 28 but the tournament will no longer be part of the World Golf Championships series.
Formwer winner Harrington will miss the event for the first time since 1995.
A total of 18 countries will be exempt, based on next week's world rankings, and the other 10 will emerge from qualifying events in Asia and South America at the end of next month.
That qualifying number will come down to nine should hosts China require an invitation to play.
With Open champion Padraig Harrington giving the event a miss for the first time since 1995 - he and Paul McGinley won in 1997 - Ireland could be among the nations having to qualify.
Their second highest-ranked player in the world at the moment is Graeme McDowell at 126th, followed by Darren Clarke at 143rd and McGinley at 164th.
In another change this year the original Canada Cup trophy will return.
It was not used while the tournament was under the WGC umbrella and since 2000 has been housed at the World Golf Hall of Fame in Florida.
The event will continue until 2018, and most probably beyond, at Mission Hills in Shenzen. E-mail to a friend 
| Most Viewed | Most Emailed | Top Searches |
From the Blogs: 
Sit tight, we're getting to the good stuff
