Malaysian golfer Arie Irawan’s death in his hotel room on Sunday led the PGA Tour Series-China to cancel the final round of the Sanya Championship in China.
Officials at the event announced on Sunday that the 28-year-old Tour pro died from “apparent natural causes.”
The Tour said in a statement that Irawan missed the 36-hole cut at this week’s event, the second of the PGA Tour Series-China season.
“The PGA Tour and the China Golf Association grieve at this loss of one of our members and share sincere condolences with Arie’s wife, Marina, and his parents, Ahmad and Jeny,” the Tour said. “When something of this magnitude occurs in the golf world, we all grieve at the same time.
“Out of respect for the family, officials cancelled the final round of the Sanya Championship…it’s a true tragedy what has happened. Sometimes, though, things happen in life that are bigger than a sporting event.”
Along with playing on the PGA Tour Series-China, Irawan also competed on the Asian Tour and Asian Development Tour during his six-year pro career. After turning pro in 2013, Irawan won twice on the Development Tour in 2015 and earned his Asian Tour card during the same year.
During the 2015 season, Irawan became the highest-ranked Malaysian golfer in the official world golf rankings by climbing into the top 300. Irawan, who joined the PGA Tour Series-China in 2018, missed the majority of the 2016 season due to a moped accident.
Irawan’s two best performances following the 2015 season would be a pair of fourth-place finishes in 2018 on the Asian Development Tour and PGA Tour Series-China. Irawan also won two events in 2014 and 2017 on the Professional Golf of Malaysia Tour.
