The PGA Tour has announced the cancellation of the WGC-HSBC Champions, which was scheduled to take place in Shanghai, China from 29 October to 1 November.
The Tour released a statement on Tuesday in the wake of new regulations announced by the General Administration of Sports of China in July about high-profiled events allowed to take place in the Asian country.
Unfortunately, the fourth event on the World Golf Championship calendar was not named as one of those events.
COLUMN: NGC cancellation was inevitable
In the statement, PGA Tour executive international vice-president Ty Votaw said they were searching for every possible alternative to successfully stage the event, given that all Tour events in Asia have been moved to the USA as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘We have worked extensively with all Tours, international officials, the China Golf Association and other local parties to find a solution to host the WGC-HSBC Champions,’ said Votaw.
‘In line with Chinese government guidelines and being mindful of the logistical implications, we collectively made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 event.
‘The WGC-HSBC Champions has been a catalyst in the growth in interest and participation in our sport throughout China and Asia. While we are disappointed with not being able to bring the world’s best players to Shanghai this year, our thanks goes out to HSBC, the China Golf Association and the fans in China who have helped make this event so successful since it became a World Golf Championships event in 2009.’
ALSO READ: Reminder: How the Tour Champs works
Rory McIlroy picked up a thrilling victory at the 2019 WGC-HSBC Champions after he beat Xander Schauffele in a playoff.
Earlier this year Patrick Reed claimed victory at the WGC-Mexico Championship, while this year’s edition of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play was also cancelled.
In August Justin Thomas, though, managed to secure an impressive victory on the third WGC event by winning the St Jude Invitational at TPC Southwind.
