Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy pass the time of day during an exhibition match at the Blackstone course at Mission Hills Haikou in China during October 2013. McIlroy won by a shot with a six-under 67. Photograph: Feature China/Barcroft Media

One of the leading figures in worldwide golf sponsorship has claimed the sport has moved on from the position where marquee figures such as Tiger Woods are necessary to boost tournament interest.

The WGC-HSBC Champions event gets under way in Shanghai this week with the injured Woods not in the field. Rory McIlroy, who is in the midst of a messy legal battle with his former management company, and the fatigued Phil Mickelson, are also notable by their absences from an event that otherwise boasts 40 of the world’s top 50 players.

Giles Morgan, HSBC’s global head of sponsorship and events, believes golf’s growth in China has seen something of a sea change. He also hinted that the days of Woods routinely claiming US$3m or so (£1.87m) in tournament appearance fees may be gone. There is currently no suggestion Woods will play at HSBC’s flagship European Tour event, in Abu Dhabi in January.

“When golf in China was a much smaller sport Tiger was the firepower which moved the needle,” Morgan explained. “That has grown and grown. That momentum has made the sport a much bigger force than just one individual, which is exactly right. We know that if we get 80% of the world’s top nike air max 95 players at this time of the season, we are in a good place.

“I’m sad for Rory, I’m disappointed, but we have that momentum behind us already; we had it two or three years ago. Every top player in the world is welcome to play this event if they qualify and we would be delighted to have them here. But we have moved beyond the point where we just need ‘a player’ to turn up to boost PR, gratification and media coverage. We are not interested nike air max 95 in that, we are interested in genuine growth of the sport and I think we are sitting on a fantastic new chapter.”

Both the European and US PGA Tours understandably have their eyes fixed on the Asian market. Last year’s WGC event at the Sheshan International club had a household TV reach in excess of 500 million. In Shanghai, almost 30 courses now exist in comparison to just one in the early 1990s. Another key statistic notes the expectation that 42% of the world’s middle class, the sport’s core market, will live in Asia by 2020.

“In Asia, there is great appetite for golf and the sport therefore needs to think carefully about it. There is opportunity and the right people need to sit down together,” Morgan added.

He therefore shrugged off the impact of being without those who have chosen not to travel for this week. “I don’t have my head in my hands here because the field is strong,” he said. “I also don’t believe any individual is bigger than the game.

“Tiger hasn’t been able to play here on a few occasions. He is now injured. I have no doubt at all that in the future the world No1, whoever that is, such is the growth of the game in China, they will be back. All of the great players will continue to be here.”

Morgan added: “The laws of geography and scheduling mean you are always going to lose one or two. We are quite sanguine about that. Phil has had a punishing season, I think he is quite tired.

“We also respect Rory’s decision. He feels at the moment he is not able to play because of what is going on from a personal point of view. There is nothing we can do about it. It is disappointing, of course it is, but it doesn’t detract from the tournament.”

Henrik Stenson, who will return this week following the birth of his third child, concurred. “If you are playing professional sports you want to beat the best in the world and win the biggest tournaments. This is one of them,” the Swede said. “You can always look at the couple of players who aren’t here but that’s a bit like shooting eight-under on a back nine and looking at the one hole you made par on instead of being happy with eight birdies.”