WGC-HSBC Champions return hails dawn of new era for Asian golf

WGC-HSBC Champions is set to reinforce its reputation as ‘Asia’s Major’ with the announcement of the highest quality field of golfers ever assembled in Asia.

More than 40 of the world’s top 50 players， including three current Major champions， are scheduled to line up for the $8.5 million showpiece at the Sheshan International Golf Club， Shanghai （31st October to 3rd November 2013）.

Leading the way are 2013 US Open Champion Justin Rose， 2013 Open Champion， Phil Mickelson， 2013 USPGA Champion， Jason Dufner， World Number Four Rory McIlroy， defending Champion Ian Poulter and in-form World Number Six Henrik Stenson.

Playing for an increased prize fund of $8.5 million in the recently elevated WGC-HSBC Champions， there will be more at stake than ever for the world’s best as they compete in the fourth and final World Golf Championships of 2013. For the first time， the HSBC Champions will become part of the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup schedule， with money earned counting as official money on the PGA TOUR， and the winner earning a three-year exemption on the PGA TOUR. The HSBC Champions will also award full FedExCup points， plus the 10 percent premium awarded by all World Golf Championships compared to a regular PGA TOUR event. With these changes the HSBC Champions is now in line with the other three World Golf Championships played in the United States and is also a key part of the 2013 European Tour’s Final Series.

HSBC Global Head of Sponsorship and Events Giles Morgan said： “The landscape of Asian golf has changed beyond all recognition in the last decade and the WGC-HSBC Champions has been the catalyst for this incredible growth. Ten years ago it would have been inconceivable to imagine more than 40 of the world’s top 50 players taking part in an event in Asia but here we are preparing for just that and the most international field ever assembled in the region is heading to Shanghai.

Guy Kinnings， Global Head of Golf， IMG， “We are very proud of the WGC-HSBC Champions and the partnership we have forged with HSBC. It has been very exciting and satisfying to watch it grow in stature each year since our first event in 2005. The WGC-HSBC Champions is now both Asia’s flagship event and one of the leading golf tournaments on the global golf calendar. We believe the 2013 WGC-HSBC Champions will mark an exciting new era of this great tournament and look forward to continuing to work with our partners HSBC， the International Federation of PGA Tours and the CGA.”

China Golf Association Executive Vice President and Secretary General Zhang Xiaoning said，“We are very happy to sanction this prestigious event and have a World Golf Championships here in China. It shows how far golf has progressed here and we would also like to pay tribute to HSBC who have helped， through the HSBC Champions， to further the growth of the game of golf in China and Asia in the past few years. We are sure the event will continue to play an important role to help grow the game of golf and improve the competition level of China.”

The following marquee players have won the coveted WGC-HSBC Champions title； David Howell， YE Yang， Sergio Garcia， Francesco Molinari and Phil Mickelson – the only one to have won the title twice， Martin Kaymer and， as referenced above， Ian Poulter， who became the latest to join that impressive roll of honour in 2012.