World Number Six Henrik Stenson and US PGA Tour star Rickie Fowler are the latest big names to commit to the WGC-HSBC Champions at Sheshan International Golf Club from November 5-8.
Fowler and Stenson are both hitting their best form of the season ahead of the final World Golf Championships of the year in Shanghai.
Fowler won the Deutsche Bank Championship earlier this month, the second event of the prestigious FedEx Cup playoffs while Stenson finished in second place in three of the four FedEx Cup playoff events, catapulting him into a second place finish on the final FedEx Cup standings.
They join World Number One Jordan Spieth, World Number Three Rory McIlroy and defending Champion and World Number Four Bubba Watson in confirming that they will compete for the prestigious title this November in China.
Fowler has made great strides this season having firmly established himself amongst the world’s elite with emphatic wins at The Players Championship and the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open earlier in the summer.
With his eye on finishing the season holding his first World Golf Championships trophy aloft, Fowler said: “I have had a great year and I can’t think of a better way to round it off than winning the WGC-HSBC Champions. I came pretty close last year finishing third and I am really looking forward to playing the Sheshan course again. I really enjoy travelling and especially to China where the fans create a really special atmosphere and I have enjoyed my time in Shanghai in the past and look forward to visiting again this year.”
Stenson, who is back to his best form and looking for both his first win of the season and his second World Golf Championships title, added: “I am starting to feel really good about my game and am definitely ready to win again. The last few times at the WGC-HSBC Champions I’ve finished in the middle of the pack so I am definitely looking to get on the leaderboard again this year. I haven’t played too much golf this summer and am feeling as fresh as I have felt ahead of this part of the season. HSBC put on a fantastic event and having attended the very first one in 2005, it is pretty cool to see how far both the tournament and Chinese golf has come in the last decade.”
Giles Morgan, Global Head of Sponsorship and Events at HSBC, said: “We are delighted to be able to welcome Rickie Fowler and Henrik Stenson back to WGC-HSBC Champions strengthening what is already a world-class line-up and cementing the tournament’s status as the most prestigious golf event in the region. In recent years we have seen a changing of the guard at the top of golf’s global leaderboard and this group of dynamic young players competing at Sheshan this year can be a catalyst for the continued development of the sport in Asia.”
Tickets are now on sale for the 11th edition of the WGC-HSBC Champions with all information available at www.hsbcgolf.com, together with details of revised qualification criteria.
