Coronavirus wipes out LPGA event in Asia

SINGAPORE: Golf’s HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore and the LPGA Thailand were cancelled Monday because of the coronavirus outbreak, meaning the US LPGA Tour has been forced to scrap all three of its lucrative early-season events in Asia.

The World Championship, won last year by world number two Park Sung-hyun, is one of the most prestigious on the US LPGA Tour with the world’s top 20 players and the previous year’s major-winners all participating.

The Tour had already announced 10 days ago the cancellation of China’s Blue Bay LPGA from March 5-8 on the southern island of Hainan. The three-event swing would have carried in excess of $5 million in prize money. The coronavirus outbreak has affected several other sports including football and athletics, mainly in China.

An elite field of 66 were due to compete for a $1.5 million purse at Sentosa Golf Club from February 27 with defending champion and Park playing along with fellow South Korean Ko Jin-young, the world number one, and third-ranked Nelly Korda of the US. A purse of $1.6 million would have been up for grabs at the Siam Country Club in the Thai resort of Pattaya from February 20, and $2.1 million at the Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course on Hainan Island from March 5.