The International Federation of PGA Tours, formed in 1996, created the World Golf Championships to enhance the competitive structure of professional golf worldwide while preserving the traditions and strengths of the six member Tours. The member Tours are the Asian Tour, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA TOUR, PGA Tour of Australasia and Southern Africa Tour. The Canadian Tour is named an Associate Member of the Federation.

Three major initiatives were outlined:

• Formation of the International Federation of PGA Tours.
• Joint sanctioning by the members of the International Federation of PGA Tours of significant competitions, including some at the world championship level, for the game's top players.
• A structure for a generally accepted worldwide ranking system.

The first three jointly sanctioned championships -- the Accenture Match Play Championship, the Bridgestone Invitational and CA Championship -- were launched in 1999 with Jeff Maggert winning the first event and Tiger Woods capturing the latter two. The World Cup debuted in December 2000 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and was won by the the United States team of Woods and David Duval.

The World Golf Championships events feature players from around the world competing against one another in varied formats (match play, stroke and team). A common qualification standard for the series is top players from the Official World Golf Ranking, which ensures a strong field.

The World Golf Championships feature some of the largest purses in professional golf. First prize money is in excess of $1 million.

The World Golf Championships were developed to enhance the competitive structure of professional golf worldwide while preserving the traditions and strengths of the individual Tours and their events. The Asian PGA joined the International Federation of PGA Tours as a full-fledged member in November 1999. In March 2000, the Canadian Tour was added as an Associate Member. The World Golf Championships have been conducted on five different continents.