As the Coronavirus outbreak continues to sweep Asia and confirmed cases start to appear in other parts of the world, golfing bodies are taking measures for the safety of participants and spectators.
More 6,000 cases have been reported of the virus resulting in 133 confirmed deaths.
China Golf Association (CGA) is the first international golf association to officially cancel events due to the virus.
All matches in the China-Japan and China-US Youth Golf Team Domestic competition have been cancelled and the 2020 Volvo National Youth Challenge Hainan Station that was to held at the Mission Hills Golf Club in Haikou from February 12-14.
The official statement from CGA said the cancellations are needed to keep everyone safe.
“In order to implement the Party Central Committee and the State Council’s work on the prevention and control of the new coronavirus epidemic, and to effectively protect the health and life of the people, the organizing committee decided to cancel these events,” The CGA statement read.
“In order to effectively avoid the risk of virus transmission due to crowd gathering and to maximize the health of participating players, player, parents and staff.
“The organizing committee reminded friends to go out and eat less, wear masks, wash their hands at home, and spend the Spring Festival holiday in peace.”
The Hong Kong Golf Association has also responded to the emergency response level from the Chinese Government, cancelling all squad activities.
“To tie in with the response level under the “Preparedness and Response Plan for Novel Infectious Disease of Public Health Significance” being raised to Emergency Response Level and avoid people from gathering, all HKGA Squad Activities, including Driving Range Trainings, On-course Trainings, Squad Games, Fitness Classes, Psychology Classes will be temporarily suspended from 29 January 2020 till 2 Feb 2020,” the HKGA statement read.
It is also being reported by numerous media outlets that the LPGA has made the decision to cancel the upcoming Blue Bay LPGA, which was to be held on China’s Hainan Island.
The event was scheduled to take place March 5-8, immediately following the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore.
The LGPA has been asked for a response to clarify the matter.
At this stage, all New Zealand golf activities remain as normal.