World Golf Championships Tickets Continued
The three World Golf Championships events all began in 1999, although the
Bridgestone Invitational is the direct successor of the World Series of Golf, which began in 1976.
The objective was to create a larger group of golf tournaments with a high global profile by
bringing the leading golfers from different tours together on a more regular basis, rather than just
for the major championships. At the time the publicity spoke of a "World Tour" which might
develop on the basis of the World Championships and the majors. That concept seems to have
been dropped, but the three events usually attract entries from almost all of the elite players who
are eligible to compete and they rank among the most prestigious and high profile events
outside of the majors. The prize money on offer is very close to being the highest for any
professional golf tournament. Winners generally receive 35 to 39 Official World Golf Ranking
Points, the most awarded for any tournament apart from the major championships, which carry
50 points, and The Players Championship, which is allocated 40. Tiger Woods has dominated
these tournaments, winning 12 of the first 23 events.
From 2000 to 2006 the men's golf World Cup, a tournament for teams of two players
representing their country was part of the World Golf Championships. From 2007 it is no
longer part of the World Golf Championships, but it is still played, and is currently known
as the Mission Hills World Cup. From 2000 to 2006 most years two or three of the four events
were staged in the United States and one or two were staged elsewhere. From 2007 all three
events are contracted to be played in the United States for a number of years. Several leading
figures in professional golf including PGA Tour Commissioner Tom Finchem have stated that
they would like to add a new WGC individual event in China, which will start in 2008 at the
earliest, and more likely in 2009.
