LPGA announces changes to Q-School calendar

The LPGA announced Thursday its three-stage qualifying schedule will be pushed back several months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

With the 2020 LPGA and Symetra Tour seasons suspended indefinitely, job security for 2021 is already in question.

On Thursday, the LPGA announced a revised qualifying schedule for this year, with its three-stage system being pushed back several months.

Stage I of LPGA Q-School is typically held in August at Mission Hills Country Club, site of the ANA Inspiration. This year, the event will move to the Bobcat and Panther Courses of Plantation Golf and Country Club in Venice, Florida, which typically hosts the second stage. The first stage will now be held Oct. 12-15. The tour is working to secure a third course.

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The second stage will now be held in November at a site that has yet to be announced. The format will not change for the first two stages.

The final stage, Q-Series, will now move to December but will not take place at Pinehurst Resort. For the past two years, Q-Series has been an eight-round grind held over two courses. This year it will be a 90-hole tournament contested over two courses in the span of one week with a cut after 72 holes.

The release also stated that criteria for all three stages “essentially remains the same.”

With the LPGA schedule likely moving back into December, this shift to host Q-Series later on the calendar makes perfect sense.

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