Organizers of the LPGA’s ANA Inspiration have their eyes set on September, the rescheduled dates for the storied LPGA major in Rancho Mirage, California. But they also will be watching Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday with keen interest.
That’s the day the PGA Tour will begin play in the Charles Schwab Challenge, the men’s tour’s first event since a three-month pause started March 13. This week’s PGA tournament and each event played between golf’s return from COVID-19 postponements and the first day of the ANA Inspiration on Sept. 10 will serve as learning opportunities on health, safety and competition for golfers and tournament organizers.
From whether fans can attend to coronavirus testing for players to how many hand-sanitizing stations are needed on the course, the desert’s LPGA major and every other golf event in the coming months face issues they have never needed to address before.
“Not only the LPGA but the PGA Tour, and we at (International Management Group) operate a lot of other different sporting events throughout verticals in our portfolio,” said Teo Sodeman, the new tournament director of the ANA Inspiration for IMG. “We’re constantly sharing information back and forth to make sure that we put the best procedures forward and make sure that everyone is safe and healthy.”
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The LPGA took just eight days to reschedule the ANA Inspiration after it was postponed March 12, a sign of how important the Rancho Mirage event, its history and its traditions are to the women’s tour since it debuted in 1972. But just what the tournament will look like in 13 weeks remains a question. It would be the first major event hosted in the desert in nearly eight months.
“We’re still planning for the same scope in September,” said Alyssa Randolph, tournament manager for the event. “Of course, there are so many options that we are considering and precautionary measures that need to be taken to execute that same scope. I think that as time progresses, we will be able to know more about what it looks like.”
Traditionally the first major championship on any golf tour of the year, the ANA Inspiration was scheduled for April 2-5 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage. The coronavirus pandemic along with state and Riverside County orders, including bans on large gatherings, caused the event to be postponed on March 12. But on March 20, the new September dates for the tournament were announced, dates that would allow the event to be played in 2020 while fitting in with other rescheduled events from a variety of tours.
“Fortunately, the governing bodies and the different sports leaderships worked together to put a schedule together, trying to put a schedule (together) that made sense so you didn’t have a major on top of a major,” said Sodeman, who has worked at the tournament the last few years but steps up to tournament director this year. “Fortunately, the ANA Inspiration is a major championship, and we were able to get some premium T.V. spots.”
Having the event played in 2020 and broadcast to 165 countries around the world also means something to the host city.
“The greatest benefit for the City of Rancho Mirage is having our beautiful mountains, fairways, greens and wonderful weather broadcast to the world each April,” said Rancho Mirage Mayor Dana Hobart. “It’s been said many times over the years, some young girl in a foreign country dreams of coming to Rancho Mirage, donning the champions robe and jumping into Poppie’s Pond.”
The tournament trending toward being played
There is, of course, one overriding question: Will the tournament be played in September at all?
The September dates are part of a juggled schedule for the LPGA, which hasn’t played an event since February because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But even with a new schedule announced in May, the tour has seen two more tournaments in Michigan, the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational in July and the Meijer Classic in October, eventually decide to pull the plug on their 2020 events.
Keeping alive a schedule that saw three Asian events canceled in February and March before most Americans knew about the coronavirus has been a huge effort for the LPGA. The LPGA last played Feb. 16 in Australia. Since then, seven events were officially canceled and others, like the ANA Inspiration and the U.S. Women’s Open, were moved to later in the calendar year.
“The players are certainly anxious to get out and play, but I also believe and understand that the players have a lot of faith in (LPGA Commissioner) Mike Whan as a leader,” Sodeman said. “He has done a tremendous job navigating through these uncharted waters.”
Recent changes in state and county pandemic orders make the tournament being played far more likely. Gov. Gavin Newsom has said that professional sports can begin playing in the state this month. In Riverside County, modified orders are allowing retail and restaurants to reopen under what the county calls Phase 2.5.
“We continue to check in with each other, the city and the county, while we continue to plan,” Randolph said. “Of course, locally, it was great to see Supervisor (V. Manuel) Perez moved us to an advanced 2.5 phase (on May 22) as that gets us closer to 3, which was a huge win for the county. So the updates, we continue to stay close as we continue to plan.”
Assuming the tournament is played in September, Sodeman, Randolph, IMG and the LPGA have two other questions to answer. First, will fans be allowed on the course to watch the event? Second, how will the tournament provide for the health and safety of players, staff and other people who will be at the event?
Playing without fans was an option for the tournament in April before the orders that limited gatherings of large numbers of people. A no-gallery event remains a strong possibility for September.
Will fans be allowed at the event?
“Closed to the public is one of the options,” Randolph said. “Obviously, though, we would want to continue to plan and what we are doing is continuing to plan for the same scope as April, meaning open to the public and a similar build (of grandstands and other structures) and hospitality, pro-am. Of course, closed to the public is an option, but we would also need to be mandated to be closed completely.”
“Obviously, there have been a couple of golf events here in Florida, very small, and then looking forward in a couple of weeks in Fort Worth for the first PGA Tour event to go,” Sodeman said. “And that is going to be behind closed doors, no fans. But I think there is going to be a lot learned there as they get started.”
Tournament organizers won’t talk about how a no-gallery tournament might affect the event’s financial status – tickets for the rescheduled event have not been put on sale – though ticket sales alone are not considered a big part of an LPGA event’s revenues.
The event could lose some smaller sponsorships – at least in 2020 – if a hospitality village featuring local businesses is absent because there are no fans. But title sponsor All-Nippon Airways remains solidly on board, including fully funding the tournament purse of $3.1 million.
“They are obviously supportive of the event in September but very much looking forward to next year’s 50th anniversary as well,” Sodeman said of ANA.
Any gallery in September would likely be smaller than the gallery expected in April. Most snowbirds who attend the spring tournament have left the desert for Canada or other cooler locations for the summer and won’t be back until late fall.
In addition, temperatures for the second week in September will likely be much higher than in April. Last year, the temperature at Palm Springs International Airport on Sept. 13 was 109 degrees, and the average temperature for the week is 102 degrees. That might not inspire fans to head out to the course if they are allowed to buy tickets.
The potential for summer heat at the event is certainly a concern, but one the LPGA understands and is willing to live with to get the tournament played in 2020, Whan said during a conference call in April.
“A lot of people have said to me, why did you choose the date for ANA that you chose,” Whan said. “I get it. It’s hot in the desert, but we chose a week where we can still deliver 28 hours of T.V., and 28 hours of T.V. may just be next week for some tours or sports, but it isn’t the case on the LPGA. So I’m excited about the fact that we have all these in.”
Health, safety the primary concern
If fans are allowed on the course, they will add to the issues of health and safety for the week.
“Our focus is to keep driving forward to make sure that we have things planned out as best as we can to make sure that everyone including the athletes are safe and healthy,” Sodeman said.
What those procedures will look like, from testing other players, caddies and staff members to sanitary efforts on the golf course, will be based on what the LPGA decides for its upcoming events as well as what is learned in the coming weeks from other tours.
One high-profile LPGA caddie, Missy Pederson, who carries the bag for two-time ANA Inspiration champion Brittany Lincicome, revealed in May she had recovered from the virus.
Details on how and when players, caddies and other staff members will be tested have not been disclosed for the women’s tour, but the PGA Tour has issued a 34-page booklet to players, caddies and staff detailing on-site testing. There is also a recommendation but not a requirement for at-home testing before traveling to PGA Tour events. If someone tests positive at an event, they will be removed from the tournament and receive some compensation.
“We will follow advice from the Riverside County Health officials and are working closely with our partners the LPGA to make sure all the appropriate measures are in place to run a successful tournament with the health and safety of our players, spectators and event staff remaining our highest priority,” a corporate statement from IMG said. “As per all upcoming events, we will continue to monitor the situation over the next few months.”
The health issues extend to the community in general for the week of the event.
“Our city staff and the event staff have been in communication throughout this whole process. As stated previously, our first priority is to our residents, guests and businesses,” Hobart said. “We want to ensure that all state and local guidelines are met when that time comes.”
Hobart added that the city would be okay with a non-gallery event.
“The good news is the event has over 20 hours of live television coverage and produces a world-class telecast,” he said. “If the event needs to convert to a made-for-television event, it could do so. With the current gap in live sporting events, this could be a unique opportunity for the LPGA and our annual ANA Inspiration.”
Larry Bohannan is The Desert Sun golf writer. He can be reached at (760) 778-4633 or larry.bohannan@desertsun.com. Follow him on Facebook or on Twitter at Sun.@Larry_Bohannan.