Golf-China Tour returns to Sichuan after quake

BEIJING, July 22 (Reuters) - A China Tour golf tournament in Chengdu, postponed after a devastating earthquake hit Sichuan on May 12, has been rescheduled for early September, organisers said on Tuesday.

The Luxehills Championship had been scheduled for early June but was called off after the 7.9 magnitude quake hit the area, killing at least 70,000.

Some of the 130,000 troops and police mobilised in the weeks following the quake began withdrawing from the southwestern province on Monday at the orders of China's President Hu Jintao, even though millions remain homeless.

"China as a whole is encouraging people to return to the area and visit," C.B. Fong, general manager of Luxehills International Country Club, said in a China Tour statement.

"A lot of this is driven by tourism and the media is also encouraging people to visit, so this tournament fits in well. Hopefully people will see that things are getting back to normal.

"Postponing the original event was a must, but I believed we still had to stage the event at a later date. We expect a lot of people to come ..."

The tournament will now take place from Sept. 4-7 as the sixth event of this year's China Tour. (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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