LPGA postpones three more tournaments and reschedules major championship
The LPGA has postponed three more tournaments due to the coronavirus pandemic and rescheduled what was intended to be the year’s first major championship.
The ANA Inspiration, which had been scheduled for April 2-5 at Mission Hills Country Club in California, will take place at the same venue from September 10-13.
The Cambia Portland Classic in Oregon, which had been due to take place on those dates, has moved to the following week.
The three postponed events are the LOTTE Championship in Hawaii (April 15-18), the HUGEL-AIR PREMIA LA Open in Los Angeles (April 23-26) and the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship in California (April 30-May 3).
As we continue to navigate the global Coronavirus pandemic, the LPGA informed its players today that three additional events on our schedule have been postponed.
The LPGA also shared that the @ANAinspiration has been rescheduled for September.
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— LPGA (@LPGA) March 20, 2020
In a letter to players, LPGA commissioner Mike Whan wrote: “We held out on these events as long as we could, hoping conditions would improve.
“Unfortunately, the current combination of the World Health Organisation categorizing COVID-19 as a pandemic, local markets implementing very aggressive event/gathering limitations, and unprecedented, broad-scale travel restrictions that impact so many of our players and caddies, made hosting an LPGA official event under these conditions simply not possible or prudent.
“I promised myself that I wouldn’t send any more cancellation/postponement emails without some positive, rescheduling news and I’m happy to report that we have been successful in rescheduling the ANA Inspiration for the week of Sept 7 at Mission Hills. With this move, the Cambia Portland Classic will shift to the week of Sept 14 at Columbia Edgewater in Portland.
“As you can imagine, we are busy working on dates (and other changes) for postponed events. Assuming we get some relief from the COVID-19 issues soon, it’s pretty clear that the rest of the 2020 season will be quite busy and crowded.
“We are focused on giving you as many playing opportunities as we can. I will share more details about the back half of 2020 as soon as I can.
“The truth is, every time I think we’ve made a plan to address changes, it never seems to be long enough. I wish I could tell you when the LPGA Tour will resume our schedule, but the truth is, no one has those answers.
“Virtually all our events are concerned given the conditions they currently face in their respective markets. At this point, the only option is to reschedule what we can and hope the COVID-19 situation starts to improve. Trust me, patience is NOT my best quality, so this situation is hard on me, too.
“I know you deserve better and I wish I had better news to report. Again, stay tuned for updates on Fall 2020. Stay safe and stay connected with your family and friends.”
The next scheduled LPGA event is the Pelican Women’s Championship in Florida from May 14-17.
