HSBC Champions joins World Golf Championships
By PGA TOUR staff
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SHANGHAI, China -- The World Golf Championships will make its first foray into China in November when the HSBC Champions becomes the fourth stroke-play event to be included in the elite global series.
The World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions will be played Nov. 5-8 at Shanghai's Sheshan International Golf Club. World No. 1 Tiger Woods and No. 3 Sergio Garcia, the defending champion, have already committed to compete.
The addition of the $7 million event to the World Golf Championships umbrella was announced Tuesday by the International Federation of PGA Tours, the China Golf Association, IMG and HSBC.
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"This is one of the most significant steps ever taken in the globalization of golf, and one of the most logical," said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem, speaking on behalf of the International Federation of PGA Tours. "HSBC and IMG have built the HSBC Champions to a point where it was obviously the tournament outside golf's traditional heartlands that was tailor-made to be included as a World Golf Championships event.
"World-class golf has arrived on this continent and the map of the golf world may never look the same."
Woods, who has won 77 times around the world, including 14 majors, played in the HSBC Champions in 2005 and 2006.
'It is an event that symbolizes the amazing progress of golf in Asia and its new World Golf Championships status underlines how firmly China has established its place on the global golf calendar," Woods said. "I enjoy playing around the world when possible, and having a WGC event in China is very important to the global growth of the game."
Garcia defeated his Ryder Cup teammate Oliver Wilson in a playoff at Sheshan last year. The Spaniard noted that players already referred to the HSBC Champions as Asia's major.
"Now there is no doubt about it," Garcia said. "It is officially recognized as being a cut above the rest."
Padraig Harrington, winner of both the British Open and PGA Championship last year, applauded the decision by the International Federation of PGA Tours.
"The HSBC Champions established itself immediately on the players' schedules and has gotten better and better every year," the Irishman said.
The HSBC Champions will not only continue to bring together winners from all over the planet, but will also include the best players from the Federation's Tours. In addition to Garcia, past champions include Phil Mickelson (2007), Yong-eun Yang (2006) and David Howell (2005).
"The European Tour is very happy to support (HSBC's) extended commitment to the tournament and the enhanced status of the tournament to a World Golf Championships event, thus seeing the PGA TOUR join as a sanctioning body, meaning that the event is now sanctioned by all the world's Tours," said George O'Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour.
Zhang Xiaoning, Director of Multi-Ball Sports Administration Center, General Administration of Sports of China, and Executive Vice President and Secretary General of China Golf Association, said the tournament will go a long way toward growing the game in his country.
"We will actively coordinate with all parties involved to reach a common understanding that is in line with the CGA's guidelines, in order to ensure the success of the event," he said. "We are very grateful for HSBC's efforts."
The announcement marks a major milestone in HSBC's plan to create an Asian golf event of global significance, said Richard Yorke, Group General Manager, President and Chief Executive Officer at HSBC China.
"This is a showcase for our business," Yorke said. "We identified Asia's growing desire to be a venue for world-class sport, and in less than five years, we have helped create a world-class golf event here in China," he said.
The benefits are likely to be felt far beyond China's borders, according to Mark Steinberg, Senior Corporate Vice President, IMG Global Managing Director, Golf.
"It's impossible to overstate the importance of this moment for Asian golf," Steinberg said. "HSBC does a lot for the game of golf, and its vision will ensure this will be a very successful addition to the World Golf Championships stable."
The HSBC Champions will remain in Shanghai for 2010 to coincide with Shanghai hosting the World Expo. Announcements about future venues will be made at a later date.
"We take a lot of pride in the new enhanced status of the HSBC Champions," said Richard Cheung, Chairman of Shanghai Sheshan International Golf Club. "We feel we have played a part in establishing and growing the event from its conception and have enjoyed some very positive player feedback.
"It is a very special honor for our club to be the host of a World Golf Championships."
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