Shenzhen, China (Sports Network) - Organizers announced on Sunday that the WGC
- HSBC Champions will be added as an official PGA Tour event in 2013.
The HSBC Champions, which was won by Ian Poulter on Sunday, is currently the
only one of the four World Golf Championship tournaments that isn't fully
recognized by the PGA Tour.
That will change next year, with money earned counting as official money on
the PGA Tour and the winner garnering a three-year PGA Tour exemption.
Additionally, the purse for the event will increase from $7 million to $8.5
million and full FedExCup points will be handed out, including the same 10
percent premium awarded by the other WGC tournaments.
Organizers also announced that the HSBC Champions will return to Shanghai
permanently. Next year, the event will once again take place at Sheshan
International Golf Club, where it was held from 2005 to 2011 before moving to
Mission Hills Golf Club Guangdong in 2012.
The HSBC Champions is the only World Golf Championship event to be staged in
China. The other three tournaments -- the Accenture Match Play Championship,
the Cadillac Championship and the Bridgestone Invitational -- take place in
the United States.
The Sports Network