LPGA cancels Canadian Women’s Open over virus border issues

Miami: US-Canada border travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic have forced the LPGA to cancel the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, the women’s golf tour announced yesterday. The tournament, scheduled for September 3-6 at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club in Vancouver, was postponed to August 26-29, 2021, at the same venue. “We share in the disappointment of our fans, players, volunteers and partners,” said Golf Canada chief executive Laurence Applebaum. “The health of everyone who comes together for the event is our top priority.”

Mandatory quarantines and limits on group gatherings in the province of British Columbia also contributed to the decision as authorities have taken measures to limit the spread of the deadly virus that has shut down the LPGA season since February.

World number one Ko Jin-young of South Korea was to have defended her Canadian crown in Vancouver after winning last year in suburban Toronto.

The event becomes the 13th of the season to be wiped out by COVID-19 and related issues. The 2020 LPGA campaign was halted after only four tournaments, two in January in the United States and two in Australia in February.

LPGA play is scheduled to resume July 31-August 2 with a 54-hole event at Inverness in Toledo, Ohio, without spectators ahead of the August 6-9 Marathon Classic with spectators at nearby Sylvania, Ohio.

The Ladies Scottish Open and Women’s British Open remain scheduled for August.

The LPGA is set to return to US soil for the Northwest Arkansas Championship on August 28-30, now the only tuneup for a major event, the ANA Inspiration at Rancho Mirage, California, on September 10-13.