May 28 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus unit, struggling with the worst slump in its 20-year history, won’t renew as sponsor of the Lexus Cup women’s team golf event in 2009, a senior official said.

The Ryder Cup-style tournament, contested by teams from Asia and the rest of the world, has taken place annually since 2005 in Singapore and Australia and was sanctioned by the LPGA Tour. Lexus may back the tournament in 2010 if its business picks up, said Vince S. Socco, vice president of marketing.

Companies are reviewing sports sponsorships as they contend with the worst global recession since World War II. Lower Lexus sales last year added to Toyota’s 436.9 billion yen ($4.5 billion) loss in the fiscal year ended in March, the first for the Toyota City, Japan-based company in six decades.

“We’re definitely not renewing this year,” Socco said in a telephone interview from Singapore. “It’s very much under consideration for 2010 and will depend on how quickly we get out of the credit crisis.”

Now-retired golfer Annika Sorenstam led the international team to victory over Asia in the most recent Lexus Cup in Singapore in November, tying the series at 2-2.

The LPGA may lose another Asia-based event in 2009. HSBC Holdings Plc has yet to decide whether to renew its sponsorship of the HSBC Women’s Champions tournament, the richest women’s event in Asia, after its contract ended in 2008.

Lexus last year signed contracts with the British Open golf tournament and the U.S. PGA Tour. It also backs the U.S. Open tennis in New York. Sales of Lexus, the top-selling luxury brand in the U.S., fell 37 percent in the country through April.

Other carmakers have reined in sports endorsements. General Motors Corp. last year ended its nine-year partnership with No. 1-ranked golfer Tiger Woods.

To contact the reporter on this story: Grant Clark in Singapore at gclark@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 28, 2009 06:20 EDT