The History of the World Golf Championships (WGC)

This week, the PGA TOUR travels to TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, for the third of the annual World Golf Championship (WGC) events.

The WGC-FedEx St.Jude Invitational is being played at Southwind for the first time in 2019, having been played at Firestone CC since its inception in 1999, bar the 2002 event, which was held at Sahalee CC in Washington State.

When it was held at Firestone, one man reigned supreme, with Tiger Woods the victor in eight of the 20 editions, including winning a trio on the bounce twice (1999-2001, 2005-2007).

But what are the World Golf Championship events, and how did they come about?

What is the WGC?

The World Golf Championships are four events held annually and are seen as the highest-ranking tournaments in golf behind the four majors and the Players Championship (the “fifth major”).

The four events are the Mexico Championship, Dell Technologies Match Play, FedEx St.Jude Invitational, and the HSBC Champions.

The four WGC events are all official money events on the PGA TOUR, European Tour and Japan Golf Tour, as well as being officially sanctioned by the Asian Tour, Sunshine Tour, and the PGA Tour of Australasia.

The idea behind the WGC was to create a large group of tournaments, which would bring golfers from all the major golf tours together on a more regular basis.

Three of the four events first took place in 1999, in the Championship, Match Play, and the Invitational. The Champions event first took place in 2009.

The Championship

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – FEBRUARY 24: Dustin Johnson of the United States poses with the trophy after winning the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship at Club de Golf Chapultepec on February 24, 2019 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images) /

First held at Valderrama in 1999 as the WGC-American Express Championship, it is the only one of the WGC events that have been held in Europe.

The tournament was also held in Ireland twice, the United States twice and in England in 2006 before it became the Cadillac Championship in 2007.

From then on, the event spent ten years at the Blue Course at Doral, before it became the WGC-Mexico Championship from 2017 onwards, held at Club de Golf Chapultepec.

There are four multiple-winners, who have won 14 Championships between them. Tiger Woods won the tournament seven times, with this year’s victor Dustin Johnson has won the event three times.

Both Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els have also been victorious at the event twice, With Adam Scott, Patrick Reed, Justin Rose, Nick Watney, Geoff Ogilvy, Stewart Cink, Darren Clarke, and Craig Parry having taken the trophy home.

The Match Play

AUSTIN, TEXAS – MARCH 25: Bubba Watson of the United States celebrates with the Walter Hagen Cup after winning the World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play at Austin Country Club on March 25, 2018 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) /

Originally the WGC-Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship, the 1999 and 2000 events were held at La Costa, California.

The tournament became the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in 2001, and moved to Australia, before being brought back to California just a year later.

Arizona then became the host state to the Match Play in 2007, with both The Gallery and Dove Mountain playing host.

Harding Park then took over host duties when it became the Cadillac Match Play in 2015. The tournament then moved to its new home in Austin, Texas in 2016. Due to a sponsor change, the tournament became known as the Dell Technologies Match Play.

Only three men have won the Match Play on multiple occasions. Tiger Woods has three to his name, with Geoff Ogilvy and Jason Day both excelling in the format.

Kevin Kisner won this year’s event, with Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Luke Donald, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson, David Toms, Kevin Sutherland, Steve Stricker, Darren Clarke, and Jeff Maggert all having won on the versus format trophy.

The Invitational

Justin Thomas WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

AKRON, OH – AUGUST 05: Justin Thomas poses with the Gary Player Cup after winning the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club South Course on August 5, 2018 in Akron, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

This week’s event is the final tournament on the WGC calendar that started in 1999. For sponsorship reasons, it was known as the NEC Invitational from its inception through to 2005.

It then became the Bridgestone Invitational through to 2018 and was held at Firestone CC for its entirety, apart from the 2002 edition, which was played at Sahalee CC.

From 2019, the event will be known as the FedEx St. Jude Invitational due to sponsorship reasons, and will now be held at TPC Southwind in Tennessee.

With eight victories to his name, all at Firestone, Tiger Woods is the only man to have won the Invitational on multiple occasions.

Justin Thomas is the reigning Champion, with Hideki Matsuyama, Dustin Johnson, Shane Lowry, Rory McIlroy, Keegan Bradley, Adam Scott, Hunter Mahan, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, and Mike Weir all having tasted victory in the Invitational.

The Champions

Jason Day Top players to watch 2019 PGA TOUR

SHANGHAI, CHINA – OCTOBER 24: Jason Day of Australia plays his shot from the first tee during the pro-am prior to the WGC – HSBC Champions at Sheshan International Golf Club on October 24, 2018 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images) /

The final WGC event of the year is also the newest, with it first coming onto the PGA TOUR calendar in 2009, the HSBC Champions event.

The event has always been sponsored by HSBC and has always been played in China. Mission Hills in Shenzhen hosted in 2012, with all the other Champions editions being played at Sheshan.

No-one has ever won the event twice, and it is the only WGC event that Tiger Woods is yet to win in his illustrious career.

Xander Schauffele is the reigning champion, with Justin Rose, Hideki Matsuyama, Russell Knox, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Ian Poulter, Martin Kaymer, Francesco Molinari, and Phil Mickelson all having tasted victory in Asia.

Multiple Winners of WGC Events

Tiger Woods British Open 2019 Royal Portrush

PORTRUSH, NORTHERN IRELAND – JULY 19: Tiger Woods of the United States reacts on the 18th during the second round of the 148th Open Championship held on the Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush Golf Club on July 19, 2019 in Portrush, United Kingdom. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images) /

Tiger Woods is far and away the most successful golfer in World Golf Championships history, having won 18 WGC trophies. However, the former World No.1 has never won the HSBC-Champions.

The only man to have won all four WGC titles is Dustin Johnson. He has a single victory at the Match Play, Invitational and Champions to go with his three Championship victories. DJ sits second on the WGC list with six titles.

Phil Mickelson and Geoff Ogilvy have both won three WGC events, with both men having won one particular event twice. ‘Lefty’ won the Championship in both 2009 and 2018, while the Australian was the Match Play man in 2006 and 2009.

Ten other men have two WGC crowns in their careers, but only two of those have won the same event twice. Jason Day triumphed at the Match Play in 2014 and 2016, while Ernie Els tasted success at the Championship in 2004 and 2010.

Best Golfers: Ranking the 10 greatest short games all-time. dark. Next

Darren Clarke, Hunter Mahan, Hideki Matsuyama, Rory McIlroy, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose, Adam Scott, and Bubba Watson are the other multiple winners of WGC events.

Home/Golf History