Tournament celebrates 11 years in Shanghai

Please talk about your general impression of the WGC-HSBC Champions? And where this tournament ranks among the other world-class tournaments? How does the HSBC Champions differ from other HSBC-sponsored golf tournaments?

Over the past decade the tournament has earned the reputation of "Asia's Major" - it is the only World Golf Championship event outside of the US and as such is the biggest golf tournament in the world outside of the US and the Open Championship.

WGC-HSBC Champions boasts the toughest qualification criteria of all the World Golf Championships, with the majority of the field qualifying only by winning a key tournament on their Tours or by being ranked in the world's top 50.

A quick glance at the roll-call of previous winners shows the quality of the event - Phil Mickelson has won it twice, the current champion is Bubba Watson and other notable winners include Sergio Garcia, American powerhouse Dustin Johnson, Ryder Cup star Ian Poulter and Asia's first major winner Y.E. Yang.

The players enjoy the Shanghai experience; Mickelson described WGC-HSBC Champions as "one of my favorite World Golf Championship events" and Poulter revealed: "I love playing in China and really feed off the enthusiasm and encouragement I get from the fans".

WGC-HSBC Champions is our flagship golf event in Asia and last year it certainly lived up to its billing, delivering everything a major could ever want. A world-class field, a world-class course, a world-class leaderboard and a world-class finish with Bubba Watson's dramatic eagle to force a playoff before another great putt to clinch victory. We couldn't have asked for more.

What has been the biggest change to the HSBC Champions in the past 10 years?

There have been many, many changes but I'd have to say the quality of the field.

When we first brought HSBC Champions to China in 2005 our ambition was to create a world-class international golf tournament in an emerging market - the fact that we had 40 of the world's top 50 golfers with us in Shanghai in 2013 and 2014 is clear evidence that China has arrived at the top table of global golf. If you look back to 2005, just 13 of the world's Top 50 players lined up. So we've come a long way in a short time.

We've seen a decade of unprecedented golf development in China and this tournament has acted as a beacon to the world's best golfing talent. Ten years ago it would have been inconceivable to imagine more than 40 of the world's top 50 players taking part in an event in Asia.

The success of the tournament has not happened overnight and a major turning point came in 2009 when HSBC Champions was granted World Golf Championship status. We haven't looked back since, attracting high quality international fields competing for the prize fund of $8.5 million.

In recent years we've seen a changing of the guard at the top of golf's global leaderboard. A group of dynamic young players like 2015 double major winner Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy, the youngest player to win four major titles, are leading a new era of 20-something golf Champions who hail from all over the globe. In the last 20 years, the average age of the top 100 golfers has reduced from approximately 35 to 32 years of age.

Here in China it's great to see young talent making their way in the game and it's a real point of pride for HSBC that we are involved in the development of Chinese golf through our sponsorship of the HSBC China Junior Golf Program.

Could you tell us your most memorable moment over the past 10 years of HSBC Champions? Why was this so special? (Can be on or off the course, can also be something that you did)

There are three moments that stand out. I'd have to start with last year and the remarkable scenes on the 18th green on the final day. Packed galleries of fans watched in wonder as one of the world's most flamboyant talents, Bubba Watson, conjured up a 60-foot bunker shot for eagle on the last hole to force a playoff. A playoff he duly won with a 20 foot birdie. The hysteria which greeted this dramatic finale will live long in the memory - it's a long way from the quiet reserve of the first HSBC Champions a decade ago and a great reminder of just how far golf in China has come in the last 10 years.

Another memorable moment for the tournament came in 2009 when HSBC Champions was granted World Golf Championship status - quite simply, it raised the bar and we haven't looked back since. It's an important part of why the best golfers in the world choose to come to Shanghai every year.

And finally, I'd have to go back to the first HSBC Champions in 2005 - that's where it all started. Our objective was to create a world-class international golf tournament in China and the fact that we had 40 of the world's Top 50 golfers with us in Shanghai in 2013 and 2014 tells us we have achieved that.

(China Daily 10/16/2015 page24)