Golf-LPGA Tour cancels Shanghai tournament due to COVID-19

(Reuters) - The LPGA Shanghai tournament has been cancelled due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in China, the elite women's professional golf circuit said https://www.lpga.com/news/2021/buick-shanghai-canceled on Wednesday.

The event, which was scheduled for Oct. 14-17 at the Qizhong Garden Golf Club, did not take place last year because of health concerns and travel restrictions amid the pandemic.

According to a Reuters tally https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/countries-and-territories/china, there have been 94,687 infections and 4,636 coronavirus-related deaths reported in China since the pandemic began.

American Danielle Kang won the inaugural Shanghai tournament in 2018 and successfully defended her title the following year with a one-stroke win over compatriot Jessica Korda.

The LPGA tournament in Taipei, Taiwan, planned for Oct. 28-31, was also cancelled in July https://www.lpga.com/news/2021/lpga-statement-on-the-2021-taiwan-swinging-skirts-lpga for a second straight year due to similar COVID-19 restrictions in the country.

The two remaining events in the LPGA's four-stop Asia swing are scheduled for Oct. 21-24 in Busan, South Korea and Nov. 4-7 in Otsu, Japan.

(Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill)

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