Golf-China tournament withdrawn from OneAsia schedule

BEIJING, Sept 2 (Reuters) - The maiden Shandong Gold Cup tournament has been withdrawn from OneAsia's 2010 schedule and postponed until further notice, the tour said on Thursday.

The event, with a prize purse of $1 million, had been scheduled to take place at the Guyun Lake International Golf Club in the Eastern Chinese province of Shandong from Oct. 21-24.

"There have been some specific concerns raised about scheduling and timing of the Shandong Gold Cup from a local government and venue perspective," a tour spokeswoman said by email.

"As we would like to ensure that the quality of OneAsia events, and work with our sponsors to enhance these events, we have decided to postpone the tournament till further notice."

The postponement of the event leaves OneAsia with 10 tournaments in China, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand and Australia in its second year.

The tour, driven by the Australian PGA with the support of the Chinese and South Korean governing bodies, was launched last year with five tournaments and aims to provide an elite platform for Asia-Pacific golfers.

It is fiercely opposed by the established Asian Tour, which has accused OneAsia of stealing its events and has sanctioned players who take part in its tournaments.

"We will continue to focus on ensuring that our upcoming events build on the success of last year, and continue to liaise with the sponsor on arrangements of the event for the future," the tour spokeswoman added.

(Editing by Ian Ransom; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)