LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan in a memo to players yesterday confirmed that the Imperial Springs LPGA event in Guangzhou, China, "has been canceled," according to Beth Ann Baldry of GOLFWEEK. A Chinese government “crackdown on golf-course permits was the original cause for postponement,” moving the event from its original dates of Aug. 4-7 “to the week after the Solheim Cup, Sept. 29-Oct. 2.” Golfer Juli Inkster said, “This is a first-time event, and it has been shaky from the get-go. I wasn’t surprised. ... Disappointed, but not surprised.” The cancelation “reduces the number of 2011 tournaments to 23” (GOLFWEEK.com, 9/13). Whan yesterday “made it clear the Tour was unhappy, and understandably so.” Whan in his statement said the LPGA was “blindsided by the news,” and the Tour had “exhausted all possibilities to carry on with the event.” In L.A., Jill Painter notes despite the cancelation of the event, Whan “still counts China as a country in which the LPGA wants to continue to build its brand.” Whan: “We view China as an important market for the LPGA and remain open to creating a world-class event with long-term success” (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 9/14).
LEAVING THE HEARTLAND? In Chicago, Greenstein & Johnson report the city is “in danger of losing a PGA Tour event after this week's BMW Championship.” With next year's Ryder Cup scheduled for Medinah Country Club in Chicagoland, Ill., the '12 BMW “will be played at Crooked Stick outside Indianapolis.” The '14 event “is set for Denver's Cherry Hills.” Golfer Luke Donald is “pushing the tour to award the 2013 event to Conway Farms” in Lake Forest, Ill.. But the event “instead could opt to leave Chicago” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/14).
