Justin Rose and Ian Poulter on Chinese mission

What a feelgood story this is: a tale of two men whose friendship has blossomed with their careers on a journey that has seen the fulfilment of an improbable dream.

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Team building: Justin Rose points the way for Ian Poulter during the World Cup pro-am at Mission Hills

At a time when English golf has never been stronger, with four players in the world's top 21, these two are at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup this week on merit and fully justifying their position as favourites.

Rose's last appearance saw him win the Volvo Masters and wrap up Europe's Order of Merit. Poulter comes here straight from victory in the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan.

Rose said: "You do find yourself thinking back to when times were not so good. Even 18 months ago the idea that we would be representing England in this event seemed unlikely, with Luke Donald and Paul Casey a long way ahead of us. It just shows what you can achieve."

Ask Poulter how the friendship started and he recalls when they shook hands for the first time on the putting green at the French Open in 1999. Rose was at his lowest ebb. Just 18, all the confidence he had shown when finishing joint fourth as an amateur at The Open the previous year had drained away in a wretched blur of 21 missed halfway cuts.

Rose talked poignantly about how Poulter took him under his wing, drawing the youngster out of his shell. "I wasn't comfortable on tour back then and I learned a lot from him when we started rooming together in pretty basic accommodation on the Challenge Tour," he explained. "We would go out to dinner and have a laugh and I would be doing more laughing than at any time since I turned pro. We would get back to the room and Ian would have his music blaring, which wasn't what I would have done.

"On paper, you would have to say we are not the likeliest of friends. We're complete opposites in many respects. Ian has his 'balls to the wall' approach while I think about things more. But it has been good for both of us. We've learned from each other. I guess if you want the perfect approach to life and golf it would probably be down the middle."

Now they are in China at a golf resort so vast it is in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest golf complex, covering an area twice the size of Manhattan. Certainly, you would rather walk the entire length of Broadway than hike to the first tee on the course being used this week.

Pass the 18th holes on three of the 12 courses here, gawp at the 108 metre-high jade statue of the Lady Goddess, walk 1,000 yards up a steep incline . . . nothing to it really.

"I'm amazed you've found your way up here,' said Poulter, rather cheekily given that he had done it in a buggy. 'Did you see that snake on the path — a big bugger, wasn't it?"

Thanks for that, Poults. "Are they deadly?" he asked his Chinese pro-am partners. "Maybe," came the less than reassuring reply for those of us who had to walk back down.

Although some of the teams are seriously under strength, Rose and Poulter know they will have to play well to complete only a third English victory in this event that has been staged every year bar two for more than half a century.

Bradley Dredge and Stephen Dodd will try to emulate their 2005 win for Wales, while Scots Colin Montgomerie and Marc Warren, who lost in a play-off last year, want to go one better. South Africa's Retief Goosen and Trevor Immelman, Sweden's Robert Karlsson and Peter Hanson and Soren and Anders Hansen of Denmark all look dangerous.

The main complaint about this World Cup is that in nearly every other sport it is a pinnacle, whereas here it is just another event.

But maybe that will now change under the ownership of Dr David Chu, one of the prime movers behind winning the Olympics for Beijing and the man behind Mission Hills, which is situated about an hour from Hong Kong. He has bought the World Cup for the next 12 years.

Perhaps he is planning to hold it on a different course each time.

BLUFFERS' GUIDE TO WORLD CUP

The 18-best placed players from different countries in the world rankings on September 3 qualify. Each selects a playing partner from his country, who must be in the world's top 100.

■ THE rest of the 28-strong field is made up of teams from the world qualifiers held in September.

■ THE format is 72-hole strokeplay. Days one and three are four-ball better ball, days two and four are foursomes.

■ Total prize money is £2.424m with £775,000 for the winning team and £19,395 for the last team.

■ TV Times: Sky Sports 2, 3.30am-8.30am (live); 12.30pm- 5.30pm (repeat).