Clearwater Bay Open offering record purse

In addition to offering the biggest prize pool ever for a PGA Tour-Series China event, next month's 2 million yuan (about $292,000) Clearwater Bay Open will raise the Hong Kong tournament's importance in determining the tour's final order of merit and places on the 2019 Web.com Tour.

The Clearwater Bay Open will be played at Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club from Oct 11-14, wrapping up the tour's 14-event season on the heels of the Macao Championship (Sept 27-30) and Zhuhai Championship (Oct 4-7).

The tour held 12 events in both 2014 and 2015, and 13 in 2016, with all events offering 1.2 million yuan prize money.

This year's purses were raised 25 percent to 1.5 million yuan and the Clearwater Bay Open offers a further increase of over 33 percent, with a winner's check of 360,000 yuan.

"The Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club is delighted to host the Open for a third time and this year's event will be the biggest yet, with the record prize money providing a really exciting incentive for all the players as they finish their season," said David Hui, chairman of the tournament organizing committee.

"There will be many people supporting Clearwater Bay ambassadors Shunyat 'Jason' Hak and Motin Yeung as they look to finish their season strongly, along with other Hong Kong players who will compete through invitations or qualifying," Hui continued.

"We also welcome back James Marchesani to defend his title after his great win last year. We'll put on a spectacular event to provide the perfect ending to the season as the tour grows from strength to strength."

Greg Carlson, executive director of PGA Tour Series-China, said: "The Clearwater Bay Open is a hugely popular event for the players, so it was only fitting that it became the season-ending event for the first time.

"The increase in prize money to a record purse for the tour increases its importance and profile, so we're all excited about the third Clearwater Bay Open providing a sensational end to a great season."

Yeung, 24, is currently fifth on the order of merit with 518,125 yuan and is bidding to become the first Hong Kong player to earn a card on the Web.com Tour, the path to the PGA Tour.

"It has been an amazing season for me. Winning the Kunming Championship changed my life because I gained a full card on the tour, which really boosted my confidence and gave me a chance to move to the next level," said Yeung, who has three other top-10 finishes this year.

"I've played really consistently this season to stay quite high on the order of merit, so I want to play well in the final three events and obviously finish really strongly at the Clearwater Bay Open.

"It will be a special event for me as a Clearwater Bay ambassador, so I hope myself, Jason and all the other Hong Kong players can do well."

The top five on the order of merit will automatically earn status on next year's Web.com Tour, while the top 10 will be eligible for the final stage of the Web.com Tour qualifying tournament from Dec 6-9. Players ranked 11-25 will be exempt to the Second Qualifying Stage.