October 28th 2009, Shanghai, China: Asia’s first male winner of a major championship and five of the world’s top 10 golfers have joined world number one Tiger Woods and defending champion Sergio Garcia in entering the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions, guaranteeing that Asia’s first World Golf Championship event will have the greatest field ever assembled anywhere in the continent.

World number two Phil Mickelson, a winner in Shanghai in 2007, leads the list of recent entrants and together with the addition of Australia’s world number eight Geoff Ogilvy, means that all of this year’s World Golf Championship winners will be competing for the fourth and final event in the series this year.

Sure to be at the centre of attention in Shanghai will be the winner of the 2006 HSBC Champions, Yang Yong-Eun, whose PGA Championship win earlier this month ensures that the World Golf Championships status for an Asian tournament will have greater historical significance. Yang, who three years ago at the Sheshan International Golf Club saw off Tiger Woods and two recent U.S. Open winners in Retief Goosen and Michael Campbell, believes his Shanghai triumph set the stage for everything that has happened to him since.

“Winning the tournament set the foundation for bigger things to come. It gave me the courage to achieve bigger goals, like coming to play on the PGA TOUR and of course winning the PGA Championship” explains the now-37-year-old Yang. “There were so many things that happened, but in the bigger picture it definitely changed my career because it gave the strength that I needed and the confidence and belief that I could achieve bigger things.”

Paul Casey, Henrik Stenson, Stewart Cink and Padraig Harrington, ranked third, fifth,10th and 11th on the Official World Ranking respectively, have also added their names to those challenging for the newly increased prize fund of US$7 million. They will be joined by Sean O’Hair, one of the USA’s rising stars, currently ranked World No. 20, at Shanghai’s Sheshan International Golf Club from 5th to 8th November 2009. O’Hair will be joined by a number of US PGA TOUR players to be confirmed over the coming weeks.

This new finale to the golfing season has not only changed the map of world golf but has also changed the golfing calendar dramatically. Previously the star PGA TOUR players tended to wind down after THE TOUR Championship, but now the HSBC Champions is shaping up to be the season’s climax for golf’s global stars.

The players were happy to explain why they are so eager to play in the 2009 HSBC Champions, already known by many as Asia’s major:

Phil Mickelson, winner of three Majors, the 2009 World Golf Championships-CA Championship - his first World Golf Championships title - and the 2007 HSBC Champions said, “After the (British) Open Championship, it’s hard to think of a bigger or better tournament held outside the U.S. This tournament already had everything in place and deserved to be a part of the WGC series. It has always gotten strong fields and so has a great reputation world-wide and I am really looking forward to trying to reclaim my title. With this new designation I expect many top players will be looking at the WGC-HSBC Champions as the new season finale. A win there would be a tremendous way to end the season. With golf expanding as rapidly as it is in China, I think it’s only fitting that China is hosting this wonderful event.”

Paul Casey, who has recently climbed to third place on the Official World Golf Ranking, following three fantastic tournament wins this year explained, “I have had a good year and am glad to be making regular appearances in the winner’s circle again. However my goal now is to start adding WGC and Major titles to my C.V. and where better to start than at the newly appointed WGC-HSBC Champions. It really is Asia’s major and I love playing in China so hopefully I will have a successful week. HSBC are fantastic sponsors of golf worldwide and this tournament already felt a cut above the rest so will fit in ideally as the fourth member of the WGC family.”

Henrik Stenson, winner of the 2009 PLAYERS Championship and the 2007 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, added, “We are all looking forward to the WGC-HSBC Champions. It is right that World Golf Championships are played all around the world as the name suggests and I think this tournament is the right choice. It is already a very established international golf tournament played at a great venue. In the past few years golf has really taken off in Asia and I think China will make an excellent job of welcoming the World’s best players for a great week’s golf.”

Geoff Ogilvy, winner of the 2006 US Open and three World Golf Championships titles, including the 2009 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, is looking forward to a return to Sheshan International Golf Course having finished tied third last year. “It’s a great course and we were all made to feel so welcome there last year.” enthused Geoff, “As one of the international players on the US PGA TOUR, I am especially pleased to see the WGC brand taken outside the States and over to China. All the players seem pretty excited about it. After the Majors, WGC events are the ones you want to win as they have stronger and more exclusive fields. Tiger Woods has made it his business to win 16 WGC events which illustrates just how important the WGC titles are to the top players as the worlds best players usually come out on top in the world’s best events.”

The 2009 Open Champion and winner of five US PGA TOUR events including the 2004 World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational, Stewart Cink, is very much looking forward to his first visit to the Sheshan International Golf Club explaining, “I am really excited to be going to China for the first time. Anywhere the best players in the world are gathered together, you don’t want to miss out and I think it is fantastic for world golf that China will be hosting the WGC-HSBC Champions. ”

Padraig Harrington, a three-time Major winner is yet to secure his place in the HSBC Champions but is not afraid to declare his intention to qualify, “I am very aware that I haven’t yet qualified for the WGC-HSBC Champions and the uncertainty makes me very uncomfortable. It is the tournament of Champions and as it is a WGC event, it is one of the most important tournaments of the year. Currently I would qualify via my world ranking but I would obviously like to win my first title of the season as soon as possible to secure my place as I am determined to qualify.”

World number 20 and 3-time winner on the US PGA TOUR, Sean O’Hair, is one of many US players thrilled to be travelling to China for the first time, explaining, “I am really looking forward to playing in the fourth WGC. The best players in the world get to play in the WGC tournaments - they are just a hair’s breadth down from a Major so we all look forward to competing in them. I think it is great for world golf to have the WGC’s move outside America and having heard great things about the course and Shanghai, I can’t wait to get to China to play in the WGC-HSBC Champions.”

PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem is delighted to observe how the world’s best players have embraced this newly appointed World Golf Championships event, “All the players have been incredibly positive regarding this step towards the globalisation of golf. They have all been both privately and publically exceptionally supportive of the WGC-HSBC Champions and whether or not the players have qualified is regularly discussed in the locker room.”

Giles Morgan, HSBC Group Head of Sponsorship, sees the world-class field for the 2009 WGC-HSBC Champions as an affirmation of the global development and popularisation of the sport: “Golf as a global sport is in the process of being redefined. In the past two weeks we have seen golf take one step closer to becoming an Olympic sport and Yang Yong-Eun become the first Asian-born golfer to win a PGA championship. The WGC-HSBC Champions will be Asia’s first truly globally-significant golfing tournament, bringing the world’s best players to China; it’s historic!”

Zhang Xiaoning, Director of Multi-ball Sports Administration Center, General Administration of Sports of China, Executive Vice President and Secretary General of China Golf Association added, “We welcome the commitment of the world’s best golfers and look forward to welcoming them to China for the upgraded WGC-HSBC Champions. We believe this prestigious world golf championship will be the main force driving the development of the sport of golf in China.”

Robbie Henchman, Director of Golf, Asia Pacific, Senior Vice President, IMG said, “I think it has been very gratifying to see how popular the decision to upgrade the WGC-HSBC Champions has been among the players and how enthusiastic they have been in throwing their support behind the tournament. They are all delighted to see such a significant sponsor of world golf rewarded for their much appreciated efforts and many are very excited about visiting China for the first time.”

The HSBC Champions brings together tournament winners from all over the globe as well as the best players from the Federation’s Tours. The 2009 HSBC Champions will return to the highly-rated Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai. The tournament will remain in Shanghai for 2010 to coincide with Shanghai hosting the World Expo. Thereafter, the venues are to be disclosed in due course.

Richard Cheung, Chairman of Shanghai Sheshan International Golf Club said: “It is very exciting to see this high quality field taking shape. The players have been very complimentary about our course and we take great pride in their feedback and in the part we have played in establishing and growing this great event from its conception. We are very excited to host our first WGC tournament in November.”