S. Korean women's golf tour cancels 3 tournaments as sponsors pull out

In cruise control since resuming its season in May during the coronavirus pandemic, the South Korean women's golf tour has canceled three tournaments set for August and September.

The Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) announced Wednesday the scrapped tournaments are: the HighOne Resort Ladies Open (Aug. 20-23), the Hanwha Classic (Aug. 27-30) and the All for You Renoma Championship (Sept. 10-13).

Of the three, the Hanwha Classic is a major tournament.

The KLPGA said title corporate sponsors for the three events wanted to pull out of their commitments this year, citing financial trouble during the pandemic.

The KLPGA began its 2020 season last December in Vietnam and then pressed pause as the novel coronavirus wreaked havoc on South Korea. The tour returned in May with the first major tournament of the season, the KLPGA Championship, and there has been no disruption since.

The tour is in the southern island of Jeju this week for the Jeju Samdasoo Masters Open. With Wednesday's cancellations, the next event will be the Dayouwinia MBN Ladies Open, scheduled for Aug. 14-16. It will be the only tournament in August.

As it stands, three tournaments are set for September, four more for October and two last tournaments for November.

The LPGA Tour in the United States is returning this week, but many of the top-ranked South Korean players, including world No. 1 Ko Jin-young, are staying home for now, given the dire COVID-19 situation in America. This week, Ko is playing at the Jeju Samdasoo Masters at home, instead of the LPGA Drive On Championship in Ohio. (Yonhap)