After The Cancellation: The LPGA And Golf In China
/Following the abrupt cancellation this week of the upcoming Imperial Springs LPGA in China, Ron Sirak posts an assessment of the state of the LPGA Tour and future golf tournaments in places like China that's well worth a read.
According to sources familiar with the situation, the LPGA had a four-year contract with the sponsors of the China tournament who, according to the sources, had deposited money in the bank to make the event happen. But golf is a tricky political problem for Chinese leaders.
Officially, the government is opposed to golf and has a moratorium on course construction because of sensitive issues involving the country's limited farm land as well as questions of water use, complicated by a drought this year.
But unofficially, the government sees the economic potential of developing a tourist economy for China of which golf could be a key component. Many in China want to see Hainan Island off the southern coast, where the LPGA played one year, developed as the Hawaii of China with golf a key component to drawing foreigners to spend their money.