Gary Woodland and Matt Kuchar will represent the United States this week at the Mission Hills World Cup in China. The duo will be the best team America has sent to the now-biennial competition since 2003, at least according to the Official World Golf Ranking.
Kuchar is No. 10 in this week’s ranking, with Woodland coming in at 48th. Their combined ranking of 58 is the best put forth by the U.S. in the two-man competition since Jim Furyk and Justin Leonard teamed up eight years ago. Furyk - fresh off of his U.S. Open win - and Leonard had a combined rating of 21.
Last year, the duo of Nick Watney and John Merrick finished T-7 together with a joint ranking of 170 - the highest of the last decade.
The best American duo of this millenium, however, is Tiger Woods and David Duval. They won together in 2000 and lost in a playoff to South Africa a year later. They were first and third, respectively, during their defense.
In this year’s field, the highest-rated pair Woodland and Kuchar will face is from Ireland. Ulstermen Rory McIlroy (No. 2) and Graeme McDowell (No. 13) have a total ranking of 15.
