LPGA pushes back 2020 restart to mid-July
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E-mail Xinhua, April 30, 2020
The LPGA on Wednesday released its latest revised schedule, which won't see actions until mid-July at the earliest.
The LPGA had planned to resume the season in June, but with COVID-19 still spreading rapidly in the United States, the tour again pushed back the restart.
The new calendar will start with the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, a team event in Midland, Michigan from July 15 to 18. The final event of the season, the CME Group Tour Championship, moves to Dec. 17-20 in Naples, Florida, immediately following the US Women's Open in Houston, Texas.
"One thing that has become clear is that there will be no 'opening bell' regarding a return to safe play in this new normal of the COVID-19 pandemic," said LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan in a statement. "To be honest, being 'first' has never been the goal when it comes to returning to play in this new normal."
"We have built a schedule that we think is as safe as possible given what we know about travel bans, testing availability, and delivering events that our sponsors and our athletes will be excited to attend."
The women's golfers will compete for more than 56 million U.S. dollars for the remainder of the year.
Without any additional postponements or cancellations, the LPGA's return is scheduled to take place roughly a month after the PGA Tour makes its return on June 11 at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
"I realize that maybe there was a more aggressive path that we could have taken," Whan said. "But in our world, I feel like this was the right path. If it turns out that we're a little late to the party - but being late to the party enables us to benefit from learning from others."
