Zhang Weiwei of China putts during the second round of the Blue Bay LPGA golf tournament in Sanya on China’s Hainan Island on November 8, 2018. (Photo by AFP) / China OUT
For the fourth year in a row, the COVID-19 pandemic will prevent the LPGA from playing a tournament in China.
The LPGA on Tuesday night announced that it will not hold the Blue Bay LPGA in March on China’s Hainan Island.
“The 2023 Blue Bay LPGA, originally scheduled for March 9-12, is canceled further to the guidance of our partners, the China Golf Association, due to ongoing COVID-19 related matters,” the LPGA said in a statement. “We thank Hainan Greentown Blue Bay, the China Golf Association, CLPGA and IMG for all their efforts and very much look forward to returning to Hainan in 2024.”
When the coronavirus outbreak in China became global news in January 2020, the LPGA preemptively called off the Blue Bay LPGA before the pandemic caused sports and other parts of life to shut down.
The tournament also wasn’t played in 2019 amid a reshuffling of the LPGA’s schedule, meaning it will endure at least a five-year absence. Gaby Lopez of Mexico last won the event in 2018.