EUROPEAN NUMBER one Robert Karlsson thinks having fun will be the key to Swedish success as he teams up with Henrik Stenson at the 28-team World Cup of Golf this week.

With Karlsson ranked sixth in the world and Stenson 12th, the Swedes are favourites to win the trophy for their country the first time since Per-Ulrik Johansson and Anders Forsbrand 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."

Karlsson and big-hitting Stenson (32) have both played in the World Cup twice before but this year is the first time they have teamed up together.

They did partner each other at September's Ryder Cup, however, and were among the strongest European performers at Valhalla.

"Obviously we had a great experience in the Ryder Cup," Karlsson added. "So the tactics for the next couple of rounds will just be to go out and have fun, and take it on.

"You've got to try to make a lot of birdies out here to have a chance. So just go out and have fun and give it a go the best as you can."

The next best player in the field according to the world rankings is Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez at 20, reflecting a dip in the profile of a tournament that has counted Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer among its former winners.

Organisers and sponsors, however, have ambitious plans to revitalise the event, first played in 1953, over a 12-year stint at the Mission Hills complex.

"If you look on the players who have won this tournament over the years, it's very prestigious," Karlsson said.

"It was maybe going down but they are trying to build it up again to what it was, and maybe even to try to grow it up to something even more prestigious would be great."

Low scoring is expected on the Olazabal course when the 28-team tournament gets underway today with the fourballs, where each player plays each hole with the team's best score counting.

Ireland will be represented by Paul McGinley and Graeme McDowell and it is a partnership that could very well contend. However odds of 11 to 1 from Paddy Power do not appeal.

This will be McGinley's 11th time to represent his country in the competition, having teamed up with Pádraig Harrington to win in 1997.