NAPA, Calif. — The HSBC Champions made a significant change to its criteria this year, which was good news for Daniel Summerhays, Justin Thomas and Matt Jones.
The World Golf Championship in Shanghai previously placed an emphasis on winning tournaments, taking 20 winners from PGA Tour events (based on the strength of the field) and 10 winners from the European Tour, along with winners from the other tours. The final category was the top 50 in the world ranking.
This year, the world ranking was moved up to No. 3 in the order of criteria. That was followed by the top 30 from the FedEx Cup, with a caveat.