Hong Kong Open golf tournament postponed until 2022 with organisers citing travel restrictions

City’s top golf event cancelled for a second year, with Covid-19 travel restrictions to blame

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Peter Uihlein of the USA tees off on the first hole during the 58th UBS Hong Kong Golf Open. Photo: Power Sport Images/Getty Images

Published: 5:25pm, 11 Oct 2021Updated: 10:39pm, 11 Oct 2021

The Hong Kong Golf Open, one of the blue riband events on the city’s sporting calendar, has been postponed again until the new year, organisers said.

The 62nd edition of the previously annual showpiece, the city’s oldest professional sports event, was scheduled to be held at Fanling’s Hong Kong Golf Club at the end of November. But a statement from the organisers on Monday said the impact of Covid-19 and the related travel restrictions meant that the tournament would be postponed with a review of suitable options for staging the event in early 2022 ongoing.

The event was last held in January 2020 when Australia’s Wade Ormsby produced a remarkable display to claim a second Hong Kong title in a wire-to-wire win at a delayed and scaled-back 2019 edition of the tournament.

Ryder Cup stars Shane Lowry of Ireland and the USA’s Tony Finau also featured in a competitive 2019 field.

That was one of the few positives for Hong Kong during a difficult few years for its sport industry during which the Hong Kong Tennis Open and the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, two more of the city’s sporting crown jewels, were also cancelled.

The 2020 edition of the golf Open was also cancelled with organisers again citing Covid-related travel issues.