SEVILLE, Spain (AFP) - A powerful Spanish pairing of Sergio Garcia and Miguel Angel Jimenez will start favourites for golf's World Cup which takes place over the Royal Seville Golf Course from Thursday to Sunday.
Both were members of the victorious European Ryder Cup team and both have had stellar years.
The 24-year-old Garcia captured two titles on the US Tour and he recently won on home territory in the Mallorca Classic.
Jimenez, 16 years older than his team-mate, rebounded with a vengeance after a poor year in 2003 winning four titles on the European Tour and moving up to 14th in the world rankings.
A win for them in the four-day event, which pits 24 teams of two players over four days of alternating fourballs and foursomes, would be a first for Spain in the competition since 1984 when Jose Maria Canizares and Jose Rivero were in the lineup.
The main threat is likely to come from South Africa and Ireland.
South Africa, even without their top players Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, won the event last year in Kiawah Island, South Carolina, when Trevor Immelman and Rory Sabbatini triumphed.
Immelman and Sabbatini will be defending their title in Seville.
The Irish have former winners also in the "Old Firm" of Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley, who teamed up to take the top prize in 1997 also at Kiawah Island.
Harrington, eighth in the world, is the top-ranked player at the event and he and McGinley form one of the most durable partnerships in world golf.
Paul Casey will head the English challenge linking up with debutant and fellow Ryder Cup winning hero Luke Donald. Casey and Justin Rose finished second last year four strokes adrift of the South Africans.
Argentina also field a tried and trusted duo in Eduardo Romero and Angel Cabrera, while Thomas Levet and Raphael Jacquelin of France are old hands at the World Cup format.
In the asbence of top names like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, the United States, 23-times World Cup winners, will be represented by the veteran Bob Tway and Scott Verplank.
Leading the Asian challenge will be 2002 winners Japan who field Shigeki Maruyama and Hidemichi Tanaka.
Teams competing in the World Cup
Argentina - Eduardo Romero and Angel Cabrera
Australia - Stephen Leaney and Nick O'Hern
Austria - Markus Brier and Martin Wiegele
Canada - Stuart Anderson and Darren Griff
Colombia - Manuel Merizalde and Jose Garrido
Denmark - Anders Hansen and Soren Kjeldsen
England - Paul Casey and Luke Donald
France - Raphael Jacquelin and Thomas Levet
Germany - Marcel Siem and Kariem Baraka
Netherlands- Robert Jan-Derksen and Maarten Lafeber
Ireland - Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley
Italy - Allesandro Tadini and Andrea Maestroni
Japan - Shigeki Maruyama and Hidemichi Tanaka
Mexico - Pablo del Olmo and Alejandro Quiroz
Myanmar - Kyi Hla Han and Soe Kyaw Naing
New Zealand - David Small and Craig Perks
Scotland - Scott Drummond and Alastair Forsyth
South Africa - Trevor Immelman and Rory Sabbatini
South Korea - Kim Dae-Sub and Shin Yong-Jin
Spain - Sergio Garcia and Miguel Angel Jimenez
Sweden - Fredrik Jacobson and Joakim Haeggman
Taiwan - Wang Ter-Chang, Lu Wei-Chih
United States - Bob Tway and Scott Verplank
Wales - Bradley Dredge and Philip Price
11/17/2004 - 06:21 GMT - AFP