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The Ladies European Tour golfer Meghan MacLaren has detailed her travel nightmare after a cyclone threat on the Gold Coast caused the WPGA Championship to be cancelled.
The tournament, co-sanctioned with WPGA Tour of Australasia, was due to begin at the Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club on Thursday as part of an LET triple-header Down Under.
But the threat of Cyclone Alfred, which was estimated to make landfall in the Gold Coast region on Thursday, is set to bring extreme winds and heavy rain, leaving organisers no choice.
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A statement from organisers read: “After monitoring weather forecasts and following dialogue with the Queensland Government, Gold Coast City Council, Mulpha Group, Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club and the WPGA Tour of Australasia, we have taken the unprecedented decision to cancel the tournament.”
The decision has, of course, caused great disruption for players who had made the Gold Coast trip.
The cancellation of the $350,000 event, which mixes players across both tours, has left players searching for places to practice ahead of next week’s Australian Women’s Classic in New South Wales.
“Instead of playing another practice round yesterday we drove 12 hours away from the area, back to where I was last week, where we can stay and practice again for the rest of the week,” Englishwoman MacLaren wrote on X.
“Then we’ll drive 9 hours back the other direction again on Sunday ready for next week’s event.
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“Obviously would have been nicer to fly, but logistically that would have meant a lot of things to sort out… finding a suitable flight in time (£££), returning rental car (losing £££), booking a new car after flying (£££), and then deciding whether to drive or book a flight and car for next weeks event.
“I’m very lucky to have somewhere to go and a means to get there. The tour did also provide several courses outside of the area affected where players could potentially travel to and practice.
“Most importantly hope the cyclone doesn’t hit as badly as they think and everyone stays safe!! You can’t quite plan for everything as a professional golfer.”
