In a boost for golf in China and Asia, the WGC-HSBC Champions will become part of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup schedule next season, with money earned counting on the PGA Tour.
The winner would earn a three-year exemption on the PGA Tour, tour commissioner Tim Finchem revealed, and prize money would increase from US$7 million to US$8.5 million, in line with the three other WGC events in the US.
The news was part of the bank's new three-year sponsorship deal announced yesterday, with the tournament will return to Shanghai from Mission Hills in Dongguan.
It was the long-held ambition of David Chu Shu-ho, the founder of Mission Hills, to bring a World Golf Championships event to China, but it is leaving after just one edition at the late Chu's resort.
"Shanghai is one of our most important cities in the whole group and our sponsorship strategy is to host flagship events in our major cities," said Giles Morgan, HSBC's global head of sponsorship.
"We're sponsors of the Hong Kong Sevens and that's a massive market but so is Shanghai.
"We've had a great experience here in Mission Hills but for the renewal it was terribly important that we went back to Shanghai.