LPGA Tour event in China canceled two weeks before it was to be played

The LPGA Tour has canceled a tournament in China that was scheduled to be held in two weeks.

The LPGA says it received official notice from the China Golf Association late Monday that the event, known as the Imperial Springs LPGA, scheduled for Sept. 29-Oct. 2 was off. This was to have been the inaugural playing of the four-round event at Imperial Springs Golf Club in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.

“Blindsided by the news, the LPGA has exhausted all possibilities to carry on with the event as scheduled, but have been told that the tournament must be canceled,” the LPGA said in a release late Tuesday.

“We are unable to share further details of the cancellation at this time. We view China as an important market for the LPGA and remain open to creating a world-class event with long-term success.”

The tournament was originally scheduled for August, but was postponed “to allow the title sponsor and tournament organizers more time for proper permitting,” according to the LPGA release.

An official who answered the phone at the CGA on Wednesday said, “We don’t have any information on this.” Like many officials in China, he would give only his surname, Wei.

The LPGA said the players were notified Tuesday during a previously scheduled meeting at this week’s tour stop in Alabama.

After it was moved to the late September slot, the Imperial Springs LPGA event would have served as the kickoff to the LPGA Tour’s annual autumn swing through Asia. There are still four events on that swing: the Hana Bank Championship in South Korea on Oct. 7-9; the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia on Oct. 13-16; the Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship 2011 Oct. 20-23; and the Mizuno Classic in Japan on Nov. 4-6.