Ariya, Moriya back in action

Ariya, Moriya back in action

Sisters, Jasmine join Scottish Open field

Ariya Jutanugarn will lead the Thai challenge at this week's Ladies Scottish Open. (AFP photo)
Ariya Jutanugarn will lead the Thai challenge at this week's Ladies Scottish Open. (AFP photo)

Sisters Moriya and Ariya Jutanugarn returns to action on Thursday when the Ladies European Tour resumes at the Ladies Scottish Open.

Jasmine (Thidapa) Suwannapura is the other Thai in the tournament at the Renaissance Club in Scotland, which is also sanctioned by the LPGA Tour.

Moriya and Ariya have not competed for months due to travel restrictions as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jasmine, meanwhile, has played a couple of tournaments in the US since the LPGA Tour resumed last month.

The tournament is a warm-up event for the Women's British Open to be held at Royal Troon in Scotland next week.

Ariya, 24, won the Ladies Scottish Open in 2018. She claimed her first of two major titles at the Women's British Open in 2016.

The former top-ranked player will try to regain her confidence after seeing her ranking dropping to No.16 due to poor form and health problems.

World No.2 Danielle Kang of the US will be the player to watch this week after winning back-to-back LPGA titles at the Marathon Classic on Sunday and the Drive On Championship a week earlier.

In her last seven starts on the LPGA Tour, Kang has recorded three wins, one second-place finish and two third-place finishes.

Also in the tournament is New Zealand's Lydia Ko, who will be looking to bounce back from her meltdown at the Marathon Classic.

The former world No.1 threw away a five-shot lead with six to play as she chased a first LPGA Tour victory in more than two years.

Shanghai event cancelled

The LPGA Tour yesterday cancelled its Shanghai tournament after China said it will not hold most international sports events this year because of coronavirus.

LPGA Shanghai, won last year by Danielle Kang, had been scheduled for October 15-18 but has been scratched "given the current health concerns and significant travel restrictions", the tour said in a statement.

"[We] very much look forward to returning to Qizhong Garden Golf Club, Shanghai in 2021," it added.

It now appears inevitable that the men's prestigious $10.5 million World Golf Championship-HSBC Champions, due to take place two weeks later in Shanghai, will also be cancelled.

Almost all leading international sports events in China this year, including WTA and ATP tennis, have been scrapped as the country tries to prevent imported virus cases.

The Formula One Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, which was postponed in April, also looks doomed.

Men's and women's professional golf has made a tentative return in the US and Europe, but with no crowds and under strict virus-prevention protocols.

The LPGA Tour 2020 season was shut down by the pandemic in February after just four events, two in Florida and two in Australia.

It teed off again only two weeks ago with back-to-back tournaments, without crowds, in Ohio, both won by last year's Shanghai champion Kang. bangkok post/afp

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