HSBC extend sponsorship of Women's Champions'

tournament in Singapore for next three years

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY IMG
HSBC today announced that they will title sponsor the HSBC Women’s Champions for the next three years with the 2010 tournament scheduled from the 25th to 28th of February in Singapore.
A field of 63 players will compete for the coveted ‘champion of champions’ title and a prize fund of US$1.3 million. Players can qualify for the tournament known as ‘Asia’s Major’ by winning tournaments on the LPGA Tour and by placing in the Top 20 on the Rolex Ranking. There will also be two sponsors invitations including one for a leading Singaporean player. The carefully-crafted criteria ensure the world’s best players are in the field.
Since the inaugural HSBC Women’s Champions in 2008 won by World Number One, Lorena Ochoa, the tournament has been widely embraced by players, spectators, HSBC customers and golf fans as Asia’s premier Women’s tournament. All have been delighted to hear that HSBC, one of golf’s leading supporters, are continuing their sponsorship of this premier event. The 2009 HSBC Women’s Champions saw all of the World’s Top ten players challenge for the title. In the end, Korean Major winner Ji Yai Shin stormed to victory with a flawless final round 66 on Sunday.
Giles Morgan, Group Head of Sponsorship, HSBC Holdings, said, “At the end of last year’s event I said we’d sit down and work out, against our own objectives; whether the HSBC Women’s Champions had been able to do what we wanted it to do and after an extensive review we have concluded that it hits all the objectives of our brand and more. It is undoubtedly Asia’s women’s premier event. From its impressive television audience showing its global appeal to the enthusiastic support in the local market, we are delighted to continue to work with IMG and the LPGA to secure the future of this unique event.”
Guy Harvey-Samuel, CEO of HSBC Singapore, explained, “We were pleasantly surprised at how quickly the HSBC Women’s Champions was embraced as a world-class tournament and were determined to honour our commitment to Singapore’s golf fans who have quickly fallen in love with the HSBC Women’s Champions experience in the last two years. Women’s golf is a wonderful product and the golfers are superb ambassadors for their sport and we are happy to show our support at a time when they need sponsors like us to stand strong alongside them.”


+Agency report: HSBC has extended its sponsorship of the Women's Champions tournament in Singapore until 2012 but the prize money will be cut from $2 million to $1.3 million for next year's LPGA event. The prize pot will, however, go up by a further $100,000 in 2011.