England's Richard Finch, 215th in the world, is the lowest-ranked qualifier for the Volvo World Match Play next week.
Match Play field cutting up
England's Richard Finch is the lowest-ranked qualifier for the Volvo World Match Play at Finca Cortesin in Spain.
The outsider, ranked 25th in the world, will earn £40,000 just for showing up and could end up more than £564,000 richer.
The 34-year-old from Hull, who has not earned a penny from six of his last seven tournaments, has qualified through his third-place finish at the China Open last month - all because winner Branden Grace and runner-up Nicolas Colsaerts had already earned Match Play places.
And the opposition is not as fearsome as it might have been for Finch, with the world's top three - Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood - deciding to skip it this time.
With all of America's leading lights turning it down as well, world No.8 Martin Kaymer is currently the top seed, although the draw will not be made until after this week's Players Championship in Florida.
Paul Casey, winner in 2006, has received the one sponsor's invitation and joins a field that also includes compatriots Justin Rose, Robert Rock, Tom Lewis and defending champion Ian Poulter, Open champion Darren Clarke, fellow Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell, Scot Paul Lawrie and Spanish star Sergio Garcia.
Prize money is actually down this year. Poulter won nearly £704,000 last May and the total purse was £2.7million, whereas now it is £2.2m.
Tough
Under previous sponsors HSBC at Wentworth the winners walked away with £1million, but that was before a revamp which increased the field from 16 to 24, an introduction of group stages rather than straight knock-out and the move to Spain.
Casey, one of the £1m winners, said: "I am very grateful to Volvo for giving me this invite as I would have hated to miss out on what is one of my favourite events of the year.
"Having been injured at the start of the season (he dislocated a shoulder snowboarding on Christmas Eve) I am beginning to get a little more tournament tough and I think the match play format will suit me very well.
"I can't wait to see who I will have in my group. Of course, being a Ryder Cup year, this great championship is even more significant and we will all be out to impress our captain (Jose Maria Olazabal) in every match."
Full line-up (in ranking order): Martin Kaymer (Ger), Justin Rose (Eng), Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Graeme McDowell, Sergio Garcia (Spa), Brandt Snedeker (US), Peter Hanson (Swe), Ian Poulter (Eng), John Senden (Aus), Thomas Bjorn (Den), Alvaro Quiros (Spa), Paul Lawrie (Sco), Paul Casey (Eng), Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel), Robert Rock (Eng), Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spa), Retief Goosen (Rsa), Branden Grace (Rsa), Darren Clarke, Jbe Kruger (Rsa), Camilo Villegas (Col), Tetsuki Hiratsuka (Jpn), Tom Lewis (Eng), Richard Finch (Eng).
