Jeev Milkha Singh,Jyoti Randhawa

Shenzhen: Confident of a strong showing, seasoned Indian pros Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa are all set to team up for the second time at the prestigious World Cup of golf starting on Thursday at the Mission Hills Club here.

Jeev, currently placed 57th in the world, earned the direct berth for India by virtue of his ranking and has picked Randhawa as his partner. The duo had finished tied 17th in the last edition.

This is the fourth occasion that India has earned a direct qualification for the World Cup finals.

India had earlier earned direct qualification for the event in 2005, 2007 and 2008. In 2005, the Indians had put up their best performance when Randhawa and Arjun Atwal finished a creditable ninth.

Jeev, who has been consistent through out the season with a fourth place at the WGC-CA Championship and tied fifth and sixth finishes at European Open and Wales Open respectively, will make his second appearance at the event. He also posted a tied seventh at the Turning Stone Resort Championship in the United States and was recently tied 13th at the Dubai World Championship. The Chandigarh golfer finished 34th in the European Tour Race to Dubai rankings for 2009.

“I am excited to represent India once again. I’m looking forward to a good week this time around. Jyoti has performed reasonably well this year, having won a title earlier in the season. I'm positive that we will put up a good team effort this week,” he said.

Randhawa, on the other hand, won the Thailand Open earlier this year and was also the joint runner-up at the Malaysian Open. His other good finishes came at the Indonesia Open and the WGC-HSBC Champions where he finished tied seventh and tied 19th respectively. He is currently placed fifth on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.

“It is always a matter of honour and pride to be playing for the country. Jeev and I make a good team. I believe, if we play up to our potential, we have a great chance this year,” said Randhawa. The Indian team will compete against 27 other teams from around the world.

Meanwhile, Ross Fisher and Ian Poulter are determined to finish November in the same way they started it by firing England to victory.

Fisher and Poulter, who won the World Matchplay and Singapore Open respectively to kick off the month, will take on 27 other nations in their bid to claim England's third world title, and a first since 2004, at the $5.5 million tournament in Shenzhen.

“I think it is time that England won the World Cup again,” Poulter said in a statement.

“I think when you have four English players in the top 20 of the World Rankings it shows how good English golf is at the moment so it is about time we stepped up to the mark on the world stage. One thing is for sure, we will try our hardest.”

The two friends also represented their country last year but a poor start left them well off the pace as Swede's Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson claimed the prize at the vast Mission Hills complex.

World No. 7 Stenson is the highest ranked player in the field but Karlsson has suffered plummeting fortunes since he lifted the John Jay Hopkins trophy as Europe's number one last year. The 40-year-old missed more than four months of the season with a career-threatening eye condition but second place after a playoff at the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan last week should boost his confidence for the title defence. The Swedes shot a final round 63 to beat early frontrunners Spain last year and the Spaniards will again be among the teams to beat with world number eight Sergio Garcia and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano flying their flag.

World No. 10 Rory McIlroy, who ran Lee Westwood to the wire in the race for the European Order of Merit, makes his World Cup debut representing a united Ireland alongside fellow Ulsterman Graeme McDowell.

The United States have won the World Cup more times than any other nation but have drawn a blank since Tiger Woods and David Duval secured a 23rd title in 2000.

Nick Watney, who finished 12th on the 2009 US PGA money list, teams up with John Merrick to try and end the longest title drought for the US in the history of the event.

The Korean pairing of Yang Yong-eun and Charlie Wi look to have the best chance of the nine Asian teams vying to prevent the trophy leaving the continent.

Yang, Asia's first Major champion when he won the PGA Championship in August, is playing his first World Cup but keen to make an immediate impression.