LPGA Shanghai tournament canceled over coronavirus
Danielle Kang of USA drives from a tee during Round 3 of 2019 Buick LPGA Shanghai at Shanghai Qizhong Garden Golf Club on October 19, 2019, in Shanghai, China.
The LPGA Tour on Wednesday canceled its Shanghai tournament after China said it will not hold most international sports events this year because of the novel coronavirus.
LPGA Shanghai, won last year by American world No.2 Danielle Kang, had been scheduled for October 15-18 but has been scratched "given the current health concerns and significant travel restrictions," the tour said in a statement.
"(We) very much look forward to returning to Qizhong Garden Golf Club, Shanghai, in 2021," it added.
It now appears inevitable that the men's prestigious US$10.5 million World Golf Championship-HSBC Champions, due to take place two weeks later in Shanghai, will also be canceled.
Almost all leading international sports events in China this year, including WTA and ATP tennis, have been scrapped as the country tries to prevent imported virus cases.
The Formula One Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, which was postponed in April, also looks doomed.
Men's and women's professional golf has made a tentative return in the US and Europe, but with no crowds and under strict virus-prevention protocols.
The LPGA Tour 2020 season was shut down by the pandemic in February after just four events, two in Florida and two in Australia.
