The WGC-HSBC Champions was a
professional golf
For information about professional golf see:
* Professional golfer, which describes the various branches of the profession.
*Professional golf tours
Professional golf tours are the means by which otherwise unconnected professional golf tournaments ...
tournament
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
, held annually in China. Inaugurated in 2005, the first seven editions were played at the
Sheshan Golf Club
Sheshan Golf Club () is the first premier private golf club in Shanghai, China. Founded in 2004, the 18 hole golf course plays to a par of 72 and is designed by Nelson and Haworth Design, and spans over 7,266 yards (6,531 meters). Every year, th ...
in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
, then moved to the
Mission Hills Golf Club
Mission Hills Shenzhen is a twelve course 18-hole course golf resort, located in the town of Guanlan () in Shenzhen, between the cities of Shenzhen and Dongguan. It is accredited as the world's largest golf facility by the Guinness World Records ...
in
Shenzhen
Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...
for a single year in
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
. It returned to Sheshan Golf Club in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
.
Since
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
, it was a
World Golf Championship
The World Golf Championships (WGC) are a group of annual professional golf tournaments created by the International Federation of PGA Tours as a means of gathering the best players in the world together more frequently than the pre-existing four ...
event. Played in November, it was the fourth tournament on the WGC calendar along with the
WGC-Dell Match Play, the
WGC-Mexico Championship
The WGC Championship was a professional golf tournament that was held between 1999 and 2021. It was one of the three or four annual World Golf Championships until the number of WGC events was reduced to two following the 2021 season.
Under sp ...
, and the
WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational
The WGC Invitational was a professional golf tournament that was held in the United States. Established in 1999 as a successor to the World Series of Golf, it was one of three or four annual World Golf Championships (WGC) until 2021, when the num ...
events, all in North America. The field consists primarily of players who have won the top rated tournaments since the previous WGC-HSBC tournament, supplemented by other leading players in the
world rankings and money lists of the major tours.
The WGC-HSBC Champions had the highest prize money in East Asia. Originally in 2005, it was US$5 million, and grew to $7 million when it obtained WGC status in 2009, $8.5 million in 2013 and in 2019, the prize money was $10.25 million. Only the
CIMB Classic
The CIMB Classic was a professional golf tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the PGA Tour. Played in the fall, the event debuted in 2010 and moved to the West Course of the TPC Kuala Lumpur in 2013; the first ...
,
CJ Cup
The CJ Cup is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour. The tournament was played for the first time in October 2017 at the start of the 2017–18 season, and is sponsored by CJ Group. The first three editions were played at the Nine Bridges ...
,
Zozo Championship
The Zozo Championship (Japanese: ''ゾゾ・チャンピオンシップ'') is a professional golf tournament in Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, which is located in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is co-sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour and the PG ...
and
BMW Masters
The BMW Masters was a golf tournament played annually at Lake Malaren Golf Club, in Luodian, Shanghai, China. The tournament began in 2011 and became a European Tour event in 2012. It was dropped from the European Tour in 2016.
In 2011, the tourna ...
have had similar purses in the region.
Field
2005–2008
Originally, the event was sanctioned by four —the
European
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
, the
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, and
Sunshine Tour
The Sunshine Tour is a men's professional golf tour based in Southern and East Africa. For much of its early history it was known either as the South African Tour or Sunshine Circuit; through sponsorship deals, it has also been known as the Vod ...
s and the
PGA Tour of Australasia
The PGA Tour of Australasia, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, is a professional golf tour for men, owned and operated by the PGA of Australia. Official events on the tour count for World Golf Ra ...
— of the six constituent tours of
International Federation of PGA Tours
Professional golf tours are the means by which otherwise unconnected professional golf tournaments are organised into a regular schedule. There are separate tours for men and women; most are based in a specific geographical region, although some to ...
at that time. Invitations were issued to all players placed amongst the top 50 in the
Official World Golf Ranking
The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986.
The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolli ...
(OWGR). Also invited were players who had, during the
calendar year
Generally speaking, a calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day, and thus consists of a whole number of days. A year can also be measured by starting on any o ...
preceding the event, captured at least one tournament title on a sanctioning tour, or had finished the preceding
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
amongst the top twenty in the European Tour's
Race to Dubai
The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...
(the Order of Merit standings through 2008) or amongst the top five in the Order of Merit standings of any of the other three sanctioning tours. Players who had finished first in the Order of Merit standings in any of three
developmental tours—the
Von Nida and
Challenge Tour
The Challenge Tour is the second-tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and, as with on the main European Tour and the European Senior Tour, some of the events are played outside Europe.
History
The ...
s and the ''
winter swing'' of the Sunshine Tour—were also invited. Finally, starting berths were also reserved for eight Chinese
amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
and professional players to be selected by tournament organizers and sponsors, whether by qualifying tournament or not.
2009: Elevated to WGC status
The event became a
World Golf Championship
The World Golf Championships (WGC) are a group of annual professional golf tournaments created by the International Federation of PGA Tours as a means of gathering the best players in the world together more frequently than the pre-existing four ...
in 2009 on the
European Tour
The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...
. The field consists primarily of winners of the most important tournaments around the world since the previous WGC-HSBC Champions tournament. Each of the six member tours are allocated a certain number of tournaments from their tour (from 4 to 20), although these tournament must meet a minimum entry requirement. Co-sanctioned tournaments are assigned to one tour only.
The tournaments are ranked using the
Official World Golf Ranking
The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986.
The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolli ...
strength of field ("total event ranking"). Tournaments must have a minimum event ranking of 40. The ranking is based on the previous year's event ranking so that the list of qualifying events can be determined in advance. New events can be included if they are expected to have an event ranking of at least 40.
Further players gain entry through their position in the current seasons Order of Merit. Six players from China are selected while any player ranked in the world top 50 is also given an entry. If the field size is less than 78, further entries are selected from winners of additional tournaments not already considered, players ranked outside the world top 50, and the players further down the Order of Merit lists.
The tournament was the second event of the European Tour Final Series from 2013 to 2015.
Current qualifications
The current qualification categories are as follows:
#Winners of the four
major championships and
The Players Championship
The Players Championship (commonly known as simply The Players, stylized by the PGA Tour as The PLAYERS Championship) is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, it began in 1974. The P ...
#Winners of the four
World Golf Championships
The World Golf Championships (WGC) are a group of annual professional golf tournaments created by the International Federation of PGA Tours as a means of gathering the best players in the world together more frequently than the pre-existing four ...
#Top 50 in the
Official World Golf Ranking
The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986.
The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolli ...
as of two weeks prior the start of the event
#Top 30 available players from the final
FedEx Cup
The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Announced in November 2005, it was first awarded in 2007. Rory McIlroy is the 2022 champion. Th ...
Points List (if less than 5 players are available, players from position 31 or lower will be selected to fill in)
#Top 30 available players from the
Race to Dubai
The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...
Ranking as of one week prior the start of the event
#Top 4 available players from the
Asian Tour
The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf tour in Asia except for Japan, which has its own Japan Golf Tour, which is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on the tour count for Wor ...
ad hoc qualifying ranking
#Top 2 available players from the
Japan Golf Tour
The Japan Golf Tour ( ja, 日本ゴルフツアー機構) is a prominent golf tour. It was founded in 1973 and as of 2006 it offers the third-highest annual prize fund out of the regular (that is not for seniors) men's professional tours after th ...
Order of Merit as of one week prior the start of the event
#Top 2 available players from the final
PGA Tour of Australasia
The PGA Tour of Australasia, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, is a professional golf tour for men, owned and operated by the PGA of Australia. Official events on the tour count for World Golf Ra ...
Order of Merit
#Top 2 available players from the final
Sunshine Tour
The Sunshine Tour is a men's professional golf tour based in Southern and East Africa. For much of its early history it was known either as the South African Tour or Sunshine Circuit; through sponsorship deals, it has also been known as the Vod ...
Order of Merit
#Six players from China
#Alternates
PGA Tour status
From 2009 to 2012 the WGC-HSBC Champions was an unofficial money event on the
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...
, meaning that prize money did not count towards the PGA Tour money list or Fed-Ex Cup points standings. Since 2010, victories have counted as official wins for PGA Tour members, and as such
Phil Mickelson
Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970), nicknamed Lefty, is an American professional golfer who plays for LIV Golf. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six Men's major golf championships, major championships: three Masters To ...
's victory in 2009 is not counted as an official win. During this time only
Ian Poulter
Ian James Poulter (born 10 January 1976) is an English professional golfer who plays in the LIV Golf League. He has previously been ranked as high as number 5 in the world rankings. The highlights of Poulter's career to date have been his two W ...
(2012) was a PGA Tour member at the time of his win;
Martin Kaymer
Martin Kaymer ( ; born 28 December 1984) is a German professional golfer. A winner of two major championships, he was also the No. 1 ranked golfer in the Official World Golf Ranking for eight weeks in 2011.
Kaymer achieved his first major vict ...
(2011) and
Francesco Molinari
Francesco Molinari (born 8 November 1982) is an Italian professional golfer. He won the 2018 Open Championship, his first and only major victory, and the first major won by an Italian professional golfer. The Open Championship win capped a su ...
(2010) did not join the tour until 2013 and 2014 respectively.
Since 2013, the WGC-HSBC Champions has been an official PGA Tour event, with the winner receiving a three-year exemption on the tour.
Winners
Notes
References
External links
Official siteCoverage on Asian Tour's official site
{{Coord, 31.109, 121.216, type:event, display=title
World Golf Championships
Former Asian Tour events
Former PGA Tour of Australasia events
Former Sunshine Tour events
Former European Tour events
Former PGA Tour events
Golf tournaments in China
Sports competitions in Shanghai
Recurring sporting events established in 2005
HSBC
2005 establishments in China