At the 1996 Presidents Cup, golf’s five world governing bodies—the European Tour, Japan Golf Tour Organization, PGA TOUR, PGA Tour of Australasia and Sunshine Tour—reached agreement on several key elements of professional golf designed to create new international events, beginning in 1999.

- Formation of the International Federation of PGA Tours;
- A structure for a generally accepted worldwide ranking system;
- 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.

Those “significant competitions” were announced in October 1997 when the Federation introduced the World Golf Championships. 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.