Australian golf officials have cancelled the WPGA Championship on the Gold Coast amid forecasts of a cyclone. And touch football has called off its national championships amid the dire forecasts for Queensland and NSW which have other sports including the AFL on NRL on high alert. Women golf's PGA Championship, a co-sanctioned event with the Ladies European Tour, had been scheduled to start on Thursday and conclude on Sunday at the Sanctuary Cove course on the northern Gold Coast. But with Cyclone Alfred forecast to hit land on Friday, the tournament has been scrapped in a decision golf hierarchy described as "supremely disappointing". "With the predicted high rainfall, extreme winds and expected flooding, the decision has been made to ensure the safety of players, staff, fans and all stakeholders," the WPGA said in a statement on Tuesday. Australia's LPGA Tour player Grace Kim was to have been the star attraction of the tournament while an associated Gold Coast Festival of Golf has also been cancelled. Touch football has also called off its national championships which had been slated to start on Thursday in Coffs Harbour on the northern coast of NSW. The championships will be rescheduled, Touch Football Australia (TFA), said on Tuesday. "TFA explored many options including the possibility of shortened games, revised draws, and alternate fields in the Coffs Harbour area," the sport's peak body said in a statement. "However the final decision to postpone the championships was made to ensure the well-being of all touch football participants." Cyclone Alfred is currently hundreds of kilometres out to sea but on Tuesday is predicted to move towards the mainland between Queensland's Gold Coast and Byron Bay in NSW. NSW authorities have issued a cyclone watch in the state for the first time since 1990, joining Queensland in bracing for destructive winds, intense rain and flash flooding. Despite the grim forecast, the AFL plans to push ahead with its premiership season opener in Brisbane on Thursday night between the reigning premier Lions and Geelong. But AFL chief Andrew Dillon said on Monday the league was continuing to monitor the cyclone and a decision to postpone the game could be made as late as early Thursday afternoon. The NRL is also yet to make a decision on its Friday fixture between the Dolphins and South Sydney at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium. But Queensland's surf lifesaving championships scheduled from Friday to Sunday at North Kirra on the Gold Coast have been cancelled. And the annual Mooloolaba triathlon in southeast Queensland scheduled for Saturday and Sunday is also under threat.