The Women’s PGA Championship has been postponed to October but the LPGA has announced it wants to restart the 2020 Tour by the middle of July.
The major, one of five in the women’s game, was due to take place from 25-28 June in Pennsylvania, but has now been rescheduled for 8-11 October.
Other tournaments set to take place in Michigan, Arkansas and Ohio in June and early July have also been postponed.
The LPGA has also announced prize money increases at several tournaments.
“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.
“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 LPGA Tour is now due to resume on 15-18 July at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational tournament in Michigan followed by two further tournaments in July in Ohio and New Jersey.
“While July seems like a long way away, we are certainly aware that restarting our season in Michigan, Ohio and New Jersey will require a continued improvement in the situation in each of those states,” added Whan.
On the increase in purse, with more than $56m (£45m) now available for the rest of the year, he said: “Many of our remaining events will feature higher purses in 2020 thanks in part to some of our sponsors, who could not reschedule their events, offering some of their prize funds to increase other purses.
“In what has been a very challenging year for everyone, we are so thankful to our partners for their creativity, collaboration and dedication to helping our athletes get the most out of the playing opportunities they will have in this unprecedented season.”
Earlier in April, Whan said the Tour will not resume after the coronavirus pandemic until the majority of international players are able to compete in tournaments.
The first major of the season, the Evian Championship, is scheduled to be held in France from 6-9 August. However, with France banning all sporting events, including behind closed doors, until September, that event looks in jeopardy.
Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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