  Recent studies of white dwarfs in open clusters have provided new constraints
on the initial - final mass relationship (IFMR) for main sequence stars with
masses in the range 2.5 - 6.5 Mo. We re-evaluate the ensemble of data that
determines the IFMR and argue that the IFMR can be characterised by a mean
initial-final mass relationship about which there is an intrinsic scatter. We
investigate the consequences of the IFMR for the observed mass distribution of
field white dwarfs using population synthesis calculations. We show that while
a linear IFMR predicts a mass distribution that is in reasonable agreement with
the recent results from the PG survey, the data are better fitted by an IFMR
with some curvature. Our calculations indicate that a significant (~28%)
percentage of white dwarfs originating from single star evolution have masses
in excess of ~0.8 Mo, obviating the necessity for postulating the existence of
a dominant population of high-mass white dwarfs that arise from binary star
mergers.
