Already properly leaked, rumored and reported, the International Federation of PGA Tours made it official Tuesday morning at a press conference at the Shangri-La Hotel in Pudong: Shanghai's HSBC Champions golf tournament has been elevated to World Golf Championship status. To many in the golf world, this immediately makes the HSBC event, which has called Shanghai home since its 2005 debut, the most prestigious golf tournament outside of the United States and the United Kingdom. That China — which opened its first golf course in 1984 and currently has no professional golfers in the global top 100 — has been chosen as the locale for such an event speaks volumes about China's role in the current global marketplace. It's also a strong indicator that golf's governing bodies realize globalization, with Asia being the primary focus, is the key to the sport's survival in an increasingly harsh economic environment. more ›

Some people must have been wondering if the HSBC Champions golf tournament at Sheshan Golf Club in Shanghai was ever going to finish. Already one day longer than expected due to rain, play was extended even further this afternoon when Spain's Sergio Garcia and England's Oliver Wilson ended up tied at 14-under after 72 regulation holes. Garcia won on the second playoff hole. We're not sure how many people actually made it out to the course today, but it seems like those who did saw some good golf. Last year, Phil Mickelson, of the United States, won the tournament, also in a playoff. Read the entire Day 5 rundown here. The final leaderboard is here. more ›

Rain caused another three-hour delay today, and there is a lot of standing water on the course at Sheshan Golf Club, but second round action finally got started more than 24 hours late at 9:45 this morning. Most of the leaders teed off in the last hour. You can follow the leaderboard here and the official blog here. For those planning on heading out to the event, you may find this page helpful. Ticket info can be found here or you can call (+86) 21 962388. more ›

The Shanghai tournament's website reports from a soggy Sheshan Golf Club: "[P]lay has been officially abandoned for the day without a ball being hit. ... The intention now is to play as much of two rounds on Saturday as possible, beginning at 6.45am." The tournament director for the European Tour stop said the leaders — including Henrik Stenson, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and Anthony Kim — will tee off at 8:30am. Shanghaiist's weather center reports a 70% chance of rain on Saturday. A more detailed look can be found here. Our advice: Bring an umbrella and a change of socks. If you have Friday tickets or passes, you can use them Saturday, and there is already talk of finishing the tournament on Monday (every golf journalist's dream). more ›

For those of you who can't afford tickets for the pricey European Tour golf tournament going on this weekend at Shanghai's Sheshan Golf Club, the event's official website is live-blogging with hourly updates. You can follow the leaderboard here. Swede Henrik Stenson (65) currently owns a one-stroke lead over four big names: defending champ Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Anthony Kim and Adam Scott. Three Chinese golfers, Liang Wenchong, Zhang Lianwei and Shang Lei, are tied for 29th at 1-under. Tee times for tomorrow will eventually be found here. more ›