Shanghai will be home of HSBC Champions

Shanghai will become the permanent home of the HSBC Champions tournament and the event will be included in the PGA Tour's FedExCup schedule, sources said on Monday.

The tournament, which was first held in 2005, was hosted by Shanghai's Sheshan International Golf Club for seven years. This year, the event moved to Guangdong province and the players teed off at the Olazabal Course at the Mission Hills Golf Club last week.

According to a joint announcement by the International Federation of PGA Tours, HSBC, the China Golf Association and the Shanghai Administration of Sport, the HSBC Champions will return to Shanghai next year and stay in the city permanently.

"When we first came to China in 2005, our ambition was to create a world-class international golf tournament in an emerging market. Eight years on and the HSBC Champions, complete with full FedExCup points and an increased prize fund, is up there with the very best, and today's announcement represents a major step forward for golf in China," said Giles Morgan, HSBC's global head of sponsorship and events.

According to Morgan, HSBC will continue boosting support for youth development and grassroots programs including the HSBC China Junior Open.

Guan Tianlang, a 14-year-old Chinese middle school student, is set to become the youngest player in Masters history next April after winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Thailand by a stroke on Sunday.

Guan is one of 50,000 junior golfers being trained in a program jointly run by HSBC and the CGA, said Zhang Xiaoning, the CGA's executive vice-president and secretary general.

"Guan is just one example, and in the future there will be more and more outstanding young Chinese golfers appearing," said Zhang.

The total purse of the Champions will increase from $7 million to $8.5 million, and HSBC has decided to extend its title sponsorship of the event or three additional years to 2015. The 2013 HSBC Champions is scheduled to take place from Oct 28-Nov 3.

wang_ying@chinadaily.com.cn