COVID-19 restrictions in China caused the PGA Tour to cancel the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament scheduled for Oct. 27-30.
The event began in 2005 but was last contested in 2019 due to the pandemic.
“We have worked with all Tours, as well as the China Golf Association, on the viability of hosting the WGC-HSBC Champions this fall, but unfortunately the logistical implications forced the difficult decision to cancel the event,” PGA Tour international senior vice president Christian Hardy said in a statement. “We are thankful for HSBC’s partnership during these trying times as we continue to navigate the changing COVID-19 climate.”
Rory McIlroy won the event in 2019. The total purse of $10.5 million is part of the reason it’s viewed as Asia’s major tournament on the Tour.
Already scheduled for the same dates in October 2022, the Butterfield Bermuda Championship will be the Tour’s stand-alone event with full FedEx Cup points. The total purse has been raised to $6.5 million.
The World Golf Championship was created with four events each year. The WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, WGC-Workday Championship and WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational remain active tour events.
–Field Level Media