Club: Finca Cortesin GC

Location: Casares, Andalucia, Spain

Date: May 17-20, 2012

European Tour Golf Betting Odds: The Volvo World Match Play Championship returns to Finca Cortesin in Spain after a one year break with a revised format, ensuring even more top class match play jousting between the leading players. The field size has increased from 16 to 24 players and will once again feature the round-robin group stages that worked so well in 2009. On that occasion it was Englishman Ross Fisher who landed the prestigious title, defeating American Anthony Kim in the final. Prior to 2009 the Volvo World Match Play was held at Wentworth Club from 1964 through to 2007, with a list of champions reading like a who’s who of golfing greats. The Volvo World Match Play Championship returns to Finca Cortesin in Spain after a one year break with a revised format, ensuring even more top class match play jousting between the leading players.

Increasing the field from 16 to 24 world class players will ensure only the most successful international players will win a coveted place at the 2012 Volvo World Match Play Championship. On arrival at Finca Cortesín the players will be divided into eight groups of three players to be played on Thursday and Friday with 16 players progressing to Saturday in a knock-out format with the semis and final played on Sunday.

The 2012 Volvo Match Play is an unusual format, one that other tournaments may soon copy; round robin match play at its finest with 24 of the world's best all competing on one stage. It should be an exciting tournament to watch and wager on.

2012 Volvo World Match Play Championship Winner - Paul Lawrie blows semi final lead as Nicolas Colsaerts clinches title in Spain

PAUL LAWRIE surrendered a four-shot lead to crash out of the World Matchplay Championship semi-finals yesterday and blow a hole in his Ryder Cup hopes.

The Scot was four up against Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts, who went on to win the tournament, before he blew his chances with a nightmare back nine.

Lawrie’s collapse ensured he missed the chance to go second in the Ryder Cup points race but he had looked bang on course for victory at the start of his clash with Colsaerts.

The 43-year-old was four up after four holes at the wind-lashed Finca Cortesin course in Spain but things started to go wrong when he lost the eighth.

Colsaerts went on to win the next hole as well and then birdied the 13th and 14th to level the contest.

After a one-hour rain delay the Belgian birdied from a bunker on the last to force sudden death and then won the match at the second extra hole.

Colsaerts faced former US Open champion Graeme McDowell in the final after the Northern Irishman had dumped Rafael Cabrera-Bello out in the semi-final.

Colsaerts won on the last to secure his second European Tour title and earn a winner’s check of £550,000. The win also boosts the Belgian’s chances of bagging a spot on the European team for the Ryder Cup showdown in Chicago in September.

2011 World Matchplay Championship Results - Graeme McDowell insists it's his turn to beat Rory McIlroy

GRAEME McDOWELL gets his first serious square go with Rory McIlroy on a golf course this morning.

And the US Open champion swears it's his turn to knock the crap out of his old pal. The pair go head to head for the first time in the last 16 of the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Spain.

They've lost count of the number of match-ups they've had in practice and last night McDowall said: "He beats the crap out of me every time we play together".

McDowell topped his group at Finca Cortesin yesterday when he followed up his win over Open champion Louis Oosthuizen with victory on the last green over Venezuela's Jhonattan Vegas. Ryder Cup partner McIlroy would have avoided him - at least for the time being - if he had defeated Nicolas Colsaerts and topped his section.

But by losing 3 and 2 to the Belgian the 22-year-old, who blew The Masters with an 80 last month, goes instantly into a clash with McDowell, who on Sunday shot 79 to crash from first to 33rd in the Players Championship.

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