Thai golf cancelled over political crisis

Political unrest leads to cancellation of 2014 Thailand Open golf tournament.

This year's Thailand Open golf tournament has been cancelled because of the deepening political crisis in the divided kingdom where martial law was declared on Tuesday.

The OneAsia tournament was meant to take place at Bangkok's Thana City Golf & Sports Club in March but was postponed after a 60-day state of emergency was declared in the capital.

The event was due to be rescheduled but organisers said late on Monday it would not take place in 2014, with hopes it will return to the calendar next year.

"The Thailand Open is a world-class tournament and we want to hold it when the environment is stable," President of the Thailand Golf Association (TGA) Rungsrid Luxsitanonda said in comments released by the organisers.

Thailand's army imposed martial law early on Tuesday to quell unrest across the country which has been shaken by deadly violence since anti-government demonstrations erupted six months ago.

The army said the move was "not a coup" - in a country which has had 18 actual or attempted military takeovers since 1932.

The current political crisis has its roots in the 2006 ousting of tycoon-turned-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who went into self-imposed exile to avoid jail for a corruption conviction.

Patrick Feizal Joyce, a vice president at event promoter World Sport Group said: "We needed some certainty in the situation so it has been agreed by all relevant parties to cancel this year's Thailand Open.

"It is our hope that the tournament will be staged next year," he added just hours before martial law was invoked.

Last year's Thailand Open was won by Thai Prayad Marksaeng.


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Source: AAP


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