Mike Weir, the 2003 Masters Champion, has confirmed that he will play in the HSBC World Match Play Championship at Wentworth next month. The £2.3 million tournament offers a winner's cheque of £1 million.
The 33 year old Canadian topped the HSBC Major championships Ranking in 2003, which reflects performance in the year's four Major championships.
The only player to record a top three finish in two Majors, he followed his win at Augusta National with joint third place in the US Open Championship, joint 28th in the Open Golf Championship and joint seventh in the US PGA Championship.
Weir has been one of the most consistent players on the US PGA Tour this year, winning the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic and the Nissan Open in addition to
his great triumph in the Masters Tournament. The World Number Four is a former winner of the World Golf Championships - American Express Championship in 2000 and the US PGA Tour Championship in 2001.
Richard Beck, Head of Group External Relations for HSBC, said: "Weir was simply the most consistent performer in this year's Majors. His has been an
outstanding year and we are delighted that he'll be teeing up at the HSBC World Match Play next month.
"When we took on the championship this year we made two significant changes. We raised the winner's cheque to £1m, creating the richest prize in the history of US and European golf. And we committed to transform the field, changing the invitational format to create a field of the year's top performing players."
The final field for the HSBC World Match Play Championship will be announced shortly.
HSBC, the world's second largest bank, signed a ten-year sponsorship deal and introduced the HSBC Major Championships Ranking as a basis for
constructing the strongest field for the event. The HSBC World Match Play Championship celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and remains the world's only match play tournament with all matches contested over 36 holes.
