Singapore and Taiwan booked places at next month's World Cup after a tight finish in the last-day foursomes in a Nations Cup qualifier in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Sunday. Singapore duo Mardan Mamat and Lam Chih Bing, who had led after the first three rounds, combined for a one-under-par 71 in the alternate shot format to finish on 19-under 269 at Kota Permai Golf & Country Club.
They ended up joint winners with Taiwan's Wang Ter-chang and Chang Tse-peng, who closed with a 68.
The top two teams in the 12-nation qualifier automatically sealed spots at the November 17-20 WGC-World Cup at Victoria Clube de Golfe in Vilamoura, Portugal.
Narrowly missing out were tournament favourites Thaworn Wiratchant and Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand, whose final-round 67 left them one stroke behind the leaders, and Malaysian pairing Danny Chia and Iain Steel, a further two shots back after a 73.
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"We came here with the aim of finishing in the top two and we've done it," a jubilant Mamat told reporters after the Singapore duo survived a stuttering back nine including a double-bogey on 12 and dropped shots on 10 and 17.Lam, who will make his second World Cup appearance after qualifying alongside Mamat in 2002, added: "We had several near heart attacks out there. We were cruising and all of a sudden we made some costly mistakes.
"I reminded Mardan that when we qualified three years ago, we also had a hiccup on the final day and just told him to hang on. He hit some solid shots in the closing stages."
Eighteen nations, plus hosts Portugal, were already exempt for the 24-team World Cup.
The remaining three places will be decided in an 18-team Nations Cup qualifier at El Tigre Golf Club in Vallarta Nayarit, Mexico, also finishing on Sunday.
The 21 nations confirmed for the 2005 World Cup are: England [Images], Argentina, Australia, Denmark, France [Images], Germany [Images], India, Ireland, Japan [Images], the Netherlands, Paraguay, Portugal, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Wales and the U.S.
The defending champions are England, who will be represented by world number 15 Luke Donald and fellow Ryder Cup player David Howell.
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