The LPGA Tour has postponed the start of its season by another month and now plans to play its first event, the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, in mid-July. The team event, which was played for the first time in 2019, is held at Midland C.C. in Midland, Mich.
The change has shifted move events on the LPGA schedule, notably the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. It no longer will be the first major of the year. It has been moved from its slot in June to October at Aronimink Golf Club in Newton Square, Pa. Instead, the Evian Championship starting on Aug. 6 will be the first major.
“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,” LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan said. “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.”
Related: PGA Tour announces plans to resume play in June
While not every event on the original 2020 calendar could be rescheduled, the new calendar features 23 events from July to December, with two weeks off. One positive note Whan made was that many purses for events on the new calendar are higher, thanks to sponsors of canceled events putting some of their prize money towards other purses.
The new 2020 LPGA Tour schedule is as follows, with majors in bold:
July 15-18, Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, Midland C.C., Midland, Michigan, $2.3M
July 23-26,
Marathon LPGA Classic presented by Dana,
Highland Meadows G.C., Sylvania, Ohio,
$2M
July 31 – Aug. 2,
ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer,
Seaview, A Dolce Hotel, Galloway, N.J,
$2M
Aug. 6-9,
The Evian Championship,
Evian Resort G.C., Evian-les-Bains, France,
$4.1M
Aug. 13-16,
Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open,
The Renaissance Club, North Berwick, Scotland,
$1.5M
Aug. 20-23,
AIG Women’s British Open,
Royal Troon G.C., Troon, Scotland,
$4.5M
Aug. 28-30,
Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G,
Pinnacle C.C., Rogers, Ark.,
$2M
Sept. 3-6,
CP Women’s Open,
Shaughnessy G. and C.C., Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada,
$2.35M
Sept. 10-13,
ANA Inspiration,
Mission Hills C.C., Rancho Mirage, Calif.,
$3.1M
Sept. 17-20,
Cambia Portland Classic,
Columbia Edgewater C.C., Portland, Ore.,
$1.75M
Sept. 24-27,
Kia Classic,
Aviara G.C., Carlsbad, Calif.,
$2M
Oct. 1-4,
Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give,
Blythefield C.C., Grand Rapids, Mich.,
$2.3M
Oct. 8-11,
KPMG Women’s PGA Championship,
Aronimink G.C., Newtown Square, Pa.,
$4.3M
Oct. 15-18
Buick LPGA Shanghai
Qizhong Garden G.C., Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
$2.1M
Oct. 22-25,
BMW Ladies Championship,
LPGA International Busan, Busan, Republic of Korea,
$2M
Oct. 29 – Nov. 1,
Taiwan Swinging Skirts LPGA,
Miramar G. and C.C., New Taipei City, Chinese Taipei,
$2.2M
Nov. 6-8,
TOTO Japan Classic,
Taiheyo Club (Minori Course), Ibaraki, Japan,
$1.5M
Nov. 12-15,
Off Week
Nov. 19-22,
Pelican Women’s Championship presented by DEX Imaging,
Pelican G.C., Belleair, Fla.,
$2M
Nov. 26-29,
Off week
Dec. 3-6,
Volunteers of America Classic,
Old American G.C., The Colony, Texas,
$1.75M
Dec. 10-13,
U.S. Women’s Open,
Champions G.C., Houston, Texas,
$5.5M
Dec. 17-20,
CME Group Tour Championship,
Tiburon G.C., Naples, Fla.,
$5M