PGA Tour announces cancellation of WGC-HSBC Champions for 2020

The PGA Tour announced Tuesday that the WGC-HSBC Champions has been canceled for 2020, the latest disruption to the golf calendar because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the Tour’s other events in Asia, the CJ Cup and Zozo Championship, have both temporarily relocated to U.S. sites in recent days, the continent’s lone WGC event won’t be played at all this year because of guidelines issued by the General Administration of Sports of China regarding holding international sporting events in the country.

“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 Tour executive vice president Ty 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 tournament, originally slated for Oct. 29-Nov. 1, becomes the 12th annual Tour stop to be canceled this year because of the pandemic and the first of the 2020-21 season. The second-year Bermuda Championship, originally scheduled opposite the HSBC event, remains on the Tour’s schedule for that week.

It remains to be seen whether the Tour will elevate the Bermuda event to full-FedExCup point status, a move that would mean the winner earns an invite to the 2021 Masters. A similar decision was made for the Corales Punta Cana Resort & Club Championship, which was originally scheduled opposite the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in March. Instead, the event will offer full points when it’s played Sept. 24-27, a week originally slated for the Ryder Cup.

Rory McIlroy won last year’s HSBC event, edging defending champ Xander Schauffele in a playoff.