HSBC CHAMPIONS TOURNAMENT BECOMES PART OF US PGA TOUR SCHEDULE

NEWS RELEASE 
SHENZHEN, China – The stature and growth of golf in Asia was further confirmed today with the announcement by the International Federation of PGA Tours, HSBC, the China Golf Association and the Shanghai Administration of Sport that the HSBC Champions tournament will become part of the US PGA TOUR’s FedExCup schedule, with money earned counting as official money on the US PGA TOUR, and the winner earning a three-year exemption on the US PGA TOUR, with the opportunity to join the organization if he is a non-member.  
The HSBC Champions tournament will also award full FedExCup points, plus the 10 percent premium awarded by all World Golf Championships compared to a regular US PGA TOUR event.  
The total purse will also increase from US$7 million to US$8.5 million.  These changes bring the HSBC Champions in line with the other three World Golf Championships played in the United States.  
Considered some of the most prestigious and important events on golf’s calendar, the World Golf Championships were developed to bring the world’s best players together and have since 1999 delivered the highest-quality, most international fields in the sport.  
With today’s announcement, HSBC was proud to announce a new era, extending its title sponsorship of the HSBC Champions for three additional years, through 2015.
Further, the HSBC Champions, which enjoyed a successful, one-year staging on the Olazabal Course at Mission Hills Golf Club Guangdong this week, will return to Shanghai permanently with an official signing ceremony taking place at HSBC’s Headquarters in Shanghai on November 5.  
In 2013, the event will once again be played at the Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai, where it was staged for seven years (2005-2011).  The 2013 HSBC Champions is scheduled for Oct. 28-Nov. 3.