Golfers don masks on fairways as smog chokes Beijing's big sporting weekend

By Tim Hume, CNN

Updated 0907 GMT (1707 HKT) October 7, 2013

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Germany's Sandra Gal was just one of the golfers spotted wearing masks to guard against air pollution at the Reignwood LPGA Classic in Beijing Sunday.

Photos: Pollution plagues Beijing's big sports weekend

The big choke – Germany's Sandra Gal was just one of the golfers spotted wearing masks to guard against air pollution at the Reignwood LPGA Classic in Beijing Sunday.

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Mariajo Uribe of Colombia was another to take to the fairways wearing a mask during the final round of play of China's first LPGA event.

Photos: Pollution plagues Beijing's big sports weekend

The big choke – Mariajo Uribe of Colombia was another to take to the fairways wearing a mask during the final round of play of China's first LPGA event.

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Swedish tennis player Robert Lindstedt, pictured here at the French Open in May, found the air quality in Beijing untenable, describing it on his blog as "a disaster" and questioning whether he would return to the event.

Photos: Pollution plagues Beijing's big sports weekend

The big choke – Swedish tennis player Robert Lindstedt, pictured here at the French Open in May, found the air quality in Beijing untenable, describing it on his blog as "a disaster" and questioning whether he would return to the event.

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Spectators at the China Open also took to wearing the masks courtside over the weekend, such as this couple watching one of the women's semi-finals Saturday.

Photos: Pollution plagues Beijing's big sports weekend

The big choke – Spectators at the China Open also took to wearing the masks courtside over the weekend, such as this couple watching one of the women's semi-finals Saturday.

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Photos: Pollution plagues Beijing's big sports weekend

The big choke – Masks were seen in the crowd Sunday also. This couple were spotted watching Novak Djokovic down Rafael Nadal in the men's final.

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Story highlights

Beijing's biggest sporting weekend of 2013 was marred by hazardous smog levels
Players at an LPGA tournament took to the fairways wearing surgical masks
Swedish tennis player Robert Lindstedt called the air quality "a disaster" and "a joke"
Event organizer David Shin says Beijing may struggle to continue to attract top talent

International golfers were choking on the greens in Beijing over the weekend -- but it wasn't due to an outbreak of the yips.

Hazardous levels of pollution descended on the Chinese capital during its biggest sporting weekend of the year so far, affecting competitors and spectators alike at an LPGA golf event and the China Open tennis championship, which boasted such big names as Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams.

The sight of golfers wearing surgical-style face masks at the Reignwood LPGA Classic was hardly the advertisement that the sport was seeking for the first Ladies Professional Golf Association event to be held in China. Play was delayed for several hours Sunday to attempt to give the smog time to clear, before players including Germany's Sandra Gal and Colombia's Mariajo Uribe took to the fairways donning masks.

Spectators at tennis' China Open, where Djokovic trium