Scotland's Colin Montgomerie is desperate to avoid playing extra holes for a third year in a row when he defends his World Cup trophy this week.
European No 1 Robert Karlsson does not share his lack of adventure, however, and says that having fun will be the key to Sweden's success this year as he teams up with Henrik Stenson at the 28-team tournament.
The 45-year-old Monty and partner Marc Warren were involved in playoffs to decide the last two World Cups, losing out to Germany in 2006 before edging out the US last year to take the title back to the home of golf for the first time.
Alastair Forsyth has replaced Warren as Montgomerie's partner this week as the Scots look to retain the trophy and bank a check for $1.7 million at Mission Hills Club in Shenzhen.
"It's up to Alastair to actually win this year without having to go to a playoff because I hate playoffs," the eight-time European Order of Merit winner told reporters on Wednesday.
"My playoff record is terrible and I'm glad I had a partner last year."
But Sweden will be the major hindrance in Scotland's title defense if world No 6 Karlsson and No 12 Stenson have any say in the matter. The pair are also favorites to win the trophy for their country for the first time since Per-Ulrik Johansson and Anders Forsbrand did so in 1991.
"To play well in a team format, it's just to try to enjoy it as much as possible," said the 39-year-old Karlsson, the first Swede to win the European Order of Merit.
"It's very important to keep your spirits high when you play together. So have a lot of fun out there and you can sort of start feeding off of each other."
Source: Agencies/China Daily
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