LPGA Hit Hard by New Coronavirus "3 Tournaments Canceled"... What About KLPGA Tour?

The LPGA Tour 'Asian Swing,' including the Honda LPGA Thailand in Thailand and the HSBC Women's World Championship in Singapore, has been entirely canceled due to the impact of the novel coronavirus.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] All three tournaments of the US Women's Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour 'Asian Swing' have been canceled.

On the 10th (Korean time), the LPGA Tour announced, "Concerns about health continue regarding the novel coronavirus infection," and "We will not hold this year's tournaments in Thailand and Singapore in accordance with the recommendations of Asian countries." They explained, "The health and safety of players, fans, and officials come first." Recently, Thailand and Singapore have been designated as countries to avoid visiting due to having more confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus originating from China than South Korea.

The Honda LPGA Thailand (total prize money $1.6 million) was scheduled to be held from the 20th at Siam Golf Club in Chonburi, Thailand, and the HSBC Women's World Championship (total prize money $1.5 million) was scheduled from the 27th at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore. The Blue Bay LPGA at Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course in Hainan, China (March 5-8, total prize money $2.1 million) was canceled early last month, resulting in all three 'Asian Swing' tournaments at the start of the season being canceled.

The LPGA Tour said, "Canceling tournaments is always a difficult decision," and expressed gratitude to all those who made every effort to host the best events. They added, "Although it is regrettable that this season's tournaments cannot be held, we will return to Asia soon." After completing the 4th round of the 2020 season, the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open (total prize money $1.3 million) held on the 13th at Grange Golf Club in Adelaide, Australia, the tour will enter a roughly one-month 'forced break.'

The Founders Cup (total prize money $1.5 million), the 5th round of the 2020 season, will be held from March 19 at Wildfire Golf Club in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. The Korean Women's Professional Golf (KLPGA) Tour was also affected by the novel coronavirus. After close discussions with the tournament organizer, the Chinese Taipei Golf Association (CTGA), and co-organizer, the Taiwan Ladies Professional Golf Association (TLPGA), the Taiwan Ladies Open (total prize money $800,000) scheduled for the 12th of next month was canceled.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.