World number one Annika Sorenstam will miss the women's World Cup of Golf to be held at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City in January 2007.

The Swede won the trophy with Liselotte Neumann at the same venue earlier this year, but has informed organisers that the event interfered with her overall preparations.

"Annika said that starting her season in January and only ending in mid-December left her too little time to have a proper rest to re-focus on the new season," World Cup media manager Alison Spratley said.

Carin Koch and Helen Alfredsson will defend the title for Sweden.

LPGA Order of Merit winner and world number two Lorena Ochoa from Mexico has also chosen to skip the event, citing similar reasons to Sorenstam. World number three Karrie Webb from Australia will also miss the tournament.

Veteran LPGA players Julie Inkster and Pat Hurst will represent the United States. The 44-woman field also includes Paraguayan Julieta Granada and English stalwart Laura Davies.

Teams: Australia (Nikki Garrett, Lindsey Wright), Brazil (Candy Hannemann Angela Park), Denmark (Karen-Margrethe Juul, Iben Tinning), England (Laura Davies, Trish Johnson), Finland (Riikka Hakkarainen, Jenni Kuosa), France (Gwladys Nocera, Stephanie Arricau), Germany (Anja Monke, Miriam Nagl), Ireland (Rebecca Coakley, Hazel Kavanagh), Italy (Veronica Zorzi, Giulia Sergas), Japan (Momoko Ueda, Shinobu Moromizato), Kenya (Rose Naliaka, Jane Njoroge [A]), Spith Korea (Young Kim, Ji Yai-shin), New Zealand (Lynnette Brooky, Elizabeth McKinnon), Norway (Suzann Pettersen, Marianne Skarpnord), Paraguay (Julieta Granada, Celeste Troche), Philippines (Dorothy Delasin, Jennifer Rosales), South Africa (Laurette Maritz, Ashleigh Simon), Spain (Ana B Sanchez, Tania Elosegui), Sweden (Helen Alfredsson, Carin Koch), Taiwan (Amy Hung, Yu Ping Lin), U.S. (Juli Inkster,Pat Hurst), Wales (Becky Brewerton, Becky Morgan).