Is It The Perfect Time For The World Cup Of Golf To Return? And Who Would Have The Best Squad?

World Cup fever is everywhere right now, but what about if it was brought back to golf? Which country would have the best team to take on the world and win?

We did have a World Cup of Golf of course, which has a long and storied history almost as much as the FIFA World Cup equivalent - with it first played as the Canada Cup way back in 1953.

It switched to the World Cup in 1967 and ran all the way until 2018, with some of the biggest names in golf competing in and winning it including two almost unstoppable teams from the USA.

Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus won it together four times in five years, while Davis Love III and Fred Couples won it four years in a row and both Tiger Woods and Seve Ballesteros won it two years running with different partners.

It's been played right across the globe too, so with the ever-shifting landscape in golf right now, surely it's time to bring back the World Cup of Golf?

What do you think about the World Cup of Golf returning? And who do you think would win? Let us know by joining the conversation below...

Why bring back the World Cup of Golf?

Whether you like it or not, what LIV Golf has done is show the thirst for top quality golf around the world - Australia and South Africa stand out as two huge events that were put on in the team golf league.

And yes Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm were headline acts, but team wise having Australian and South African teams proved hugely popular, so wouldn't a World Cup work just as well?

Maybe that's something for LIV to think about for the future?

The PGA Tour and DP World Tour are investing in the Australian Open as well, so global golf is at least on the radar.

Of course, money is the issue. LIV Golf offered huge sums to get players outside of their American comfort zone, while schedule is another concern but with the PGA Tour shortening the calendar there is a clear gap after the big DP World Tour finish.

Format can be whatever you like, from the two-player teams we've seen previously to teams of four as used in LIV, and throw in a mix of the best men and women golfers on the planet then at least in theory it looks a worthwhile endeavour.

But who could have the best team?

Which countries would have best World Cup teams?

Whether it's two starters as per the regular format, the four of LIV Golf or a mixed team of both men and women, we're looking for strength in depth here.

So for our purposes here we'll look at how strong a squad each country could build, as well as their top stars, and how they'd stack up overall in a mixed event.

USA

• Starters: Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau, Nelly Korda
• Squad: Angel Yin, Xander Schauffele, Cameron Young, Russell Henley

One of the obvious top dogs would of course be the United States, who still dominate the world rankings, recent Major victories and have World No.1 Scottie Scheffler in their ranks.

Bryson DeChambeau would be right up there too as a pick despite his recent Major struggles, while Nelly Korda has been dominant in the women's game but also has plenty of depth behind her.

Recent Ryder Cups have shown that the United States can sometimes struggle in team tournaments especially on foreign soil though.

England

• Starters: Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Charley Hull
• Squad: Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton, Aaron Rai, Alex Fitzpatrick, Marco Penge, Georgia Hall, Lottie Woad

English golf has arguably never been stronger, and you'd have to fancy them to go deep in a golf World Cup as they have big players in both the men's and women's game.

Three men in the top 10 in the world makes for a tough pick if only three starters but the squad is stacked, and even deeper down there's new Major champion Aaron Rai and Alex Fitzpatrick - one of the hottest players on the PGA Tour.

Charley Hull is about as good as it gets in the women's game and having Lottie Woad there is a stellar bench.

Ireland

• Starters: Rory McIlroy Shane Lowry, Leona Maguire
• Squad: Tom McKibbin, Stephanie Meadow, Graeme McDowell, Padraig Harrington

Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland play separately in football terms, but in the World Cup of Golf it's a united Ireland, meaning Rory McIlroy can partner with his big mate Shane Lowry.

Leona Maguire is as tough as they come in matchplay so would be a brilliant female member of the team, while there's a good mix of youth and experience on the bench thanks to Tom McKibbin and Padraig Harrington.

Spain

• Starters: Jon Rahm, Eugenio Chacarra, Carlota Ciganda
• Squad: David Puig, Sergio Garcia, Jose Luis Ballester, Angel Ayora, Julia Lopez Ramirez

Anyone with Jon Rahm in the team will have a fighting chance, but he also has a pretty strong back-up and a squad packed with young guns who could all go on to have huge careers.

Eugenio Chacarra is ripping it up on the DP World Tour while Sergio Garcia is mentoring David Puig and Jose Luis Ballester on LIV Golf. And anyone would want Solheim Cup star Carlota Ciganda on their side.

Australia

• Starters: Cameron Smith, Jason Day, Minjee Lee
• Squad: Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott, Marc Leishman, Hannah Green, Grace Kim

Three-time Major winner Minjee Lee is a match for anyone in the women's game, and she'd be a star component in what's a pretty tasty Australian squad.

Jason Day and Cameron Smith are both Major champions and as with all Australian teams there'd be no shortage of fighting spirit from this lot. The ageless Adam Scott would be pushing for a place in the starting line-up as a previous World Cup winner alongside Day in 2013.

Only the USA have won more World Cup of golf titles than Australia.

Denmark

• Starters: Rasmus Hojgaard, Nicolai Hojgaard, Emily Pedersen
• Squad: Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Frederik Kjettrup, Jacob Skov Olesen, Thomas Bjorn, Nanna Koersta Madsen

The Danes would be serious dark horses in a World Cup, with the Hojgaard brothers leading the charge, although it'd be a tough selection with some strong squad depth.

And if Denmark were in a bit of a fix, maybe they could find a way to get Chris Gotterup to use his Danish heritage to play for them!

Sweden

• Starters: Ludvig Aberg, Alex Noren, Maja Stark
• Squad: Henrik Stenson, Linn Grant, Anna Nordqvist, Madelene Sagstrom

The ice cool Swedes perhaps don't have the strength in depth in the men's game but Ludvig Aberg and Alex Noren aren't a bad starting duo - with last year's US Women's Open champion Maja Stark adding to the line-up.

Henrik Stenson and Anna Nordqvist offer experience in the squad.

Norway

• Starters: Viktor Hovland, Kristofer Reitan, Marianne Skarpnord
• Squad: Kristoffer Ventura, Dorthea Forbrigd, Celine Borge

Another Scandinavian outfit here...

It's a bit too late for Suzann Petersen to be drafted back into action, but she'd make a good manager/captain if they have one in the new World Cup of golf.

Viktor Hovland and Kristofer Reitan are proven big-game players while six-time LET winner Marianne Skarpnord just gets the nod for the female spot.

South Africa

• Starters: Louis Oosthuizen, Dean Burmester, Casandra Alexander
• Squad: Charles Schwartzel, Branden Grace, Thriston Lawrence, Aldrich Potgieter, Casey Jarvis, Ashleigh Buhai

Louis Oosthuizen can still do a job and lead this talented team of South Africans filled with multiple winners and some big hitters.

Casandra Alexander was prolific on the Sunshine Tour and has a LET win under her belt so offers strength in the women's game too.

Canada

• Starters: Corey Conners, Nick Taylor, Brooke Henderson
• Squad: Sudarshan Yellamaraju, Taylor Pendrith, Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Hadwin, Anna Huang, Aphrodite Deng

A more than solid line-up for Canada led by Corey Conners, one of the best ball strikers on the entire planet, and two-time Major winner Brooke Henderson bringing the heat from the women's game.

There's some great youth prospects coming through though with Sudersham Yellamaraju making his name on the PGA Tour while teenage prodigies Anna Huang and Aphrodite Deng are growing forces in the women's game.

Japan

• Starters: Hideki Matsuyama, Ryo Hisatsune, Miyu Yamashita
• Squad: Keita Nakajima, Kazuki Higa, Mao Saigo, Nasa Hataoka

A Masters champion leads the way for Japan but their strength in depth comes in the women's game with Major winners and a great crop of up and coming youth talent.

There's not quite the depth in the men's game right now, but Hideki Matsuyama is a great lead-off man and Ryo Hisatsune is no mug either.

Best of the rest

Thomas Detry and Thomas Pieters are actually the reigning World Cup of Golf champions as they won the last renewal of the event in 2018 - so they'd have to be respected.

Abraham Ancer finished runner-up in 2018 and with Carlos Ortiz playing alongside him and Gabby Lopez on the squad then Mexico would be classic dark horse material.

China have Haotong Li and a wealth of women's talent to call upon, while Korea may just have the best squad of the lot here with Sungjae Im and Tom Kim leading the way.

The Koreans also have a vast array of female talent so theyr'e unlucky not to make it into the top bracket of teams really.

Don't rule Robert MacIntyre and the Scots out, and having the Molinari brothers run it back after winning the World Cup back in 2009 would be fun for everyone.

But the point here is that there are so many countries these days able to put top-quality golfing squads together, that the World Cup of Golf would be some spectacle.

Let's hope there's some room for it in the future of the sport.