Winning a World Cup is every sportsman's dream; no matter the discipline, standing in front of a packed stadium or gallery and hoisting a famous, fabled trophy high into the sky is something we dream of as kids.
To watch the glee on the faces of Fabio Cannavaro, John Smit or Ricky Ponting as they laid their hands on the most coveted trophies in their respective sports, is to witness the ultimate in wish fulfilment.
Etching your name onto a roll of honour that features many - if not all - of the greats in your sport is a guaranteed way of ensuring sporting immortality and when the aforementioned trio captained their teams to the football, rugby and cricket World Cup titles, they did so knowing they were entering the pantheon of legends.
It was much the same last year for Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson when the duo lifted the Omega Mission Hills World Cup trophy to earn Sweden a second global crown in the years since 1991.
As a result, they joined a list of winners that reads like a who's who of golf: Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Seve Ballesteros, Gary Player and many, many more have, at one time or another, been reigning World Cup champions.
Of course, for a game as individually focused as golf the World Cup comes with added spin: since its inauguration in 1953 the tournament has always offered the chance of glory for the players' home nation rather than for - or at least in addition to - the men themselves.
