LPGA pushes back 2020 restart to mid-July

After planning to resume its 2020 season in June, the LPGA pushed back its restart date to mid-July.

The LPGA won’t be back in action until mid-July at the earliest. On Wednesday morning the tour released its latest revised schedule with the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, a team event in Midland, Michigan, now in the lead-off position July 15-18.

The final event of the season, the CME Group Tour Championship, moves to Dec. 17-20 in Naples, Florida, immediately following the U.S. Women’s Open in Houston, Texas.

“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 in a statement. “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.

“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.”

MORE: KPMG Women’s PGA rescheduled for October

The Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, originally scheduled for June 19-21, will now be held Aug. 28-30, taking the place of the now canceled UL International Crown.

The KPMG Women’s PGA is the latest major to move to a fall date. Originally scheduled for late June, the championship will now be held Oct. 8-11 at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

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Four other events that were scheduled to take place earlier this spring and then postponed – Volvik Founders Cup, LOTTE Championship, HUGEL-AIR PREMIA LA Open and LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship – have now been canceled for this season. That’s now a total of eight canceled events for 2020 plus the International Crown.

The Marathon Classic, Meijer LPGA Classic, new Pelican Women’s Championship and Volunteers of America Classic have all moved to later dates on the schedule featured below.

The AIG Women’s British Open remains on the schedule in late August even though the men’s British Open has been canceled for 2020.

There are four events still in the fall Asian swing, with tournaments scheduled for China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. The Korean LPGA is scheduled to return to action in mid-May with no spectators.

Players will compete for more than $56 million for the remainder of the year.

Updated LPGA schedule

Date Event and location Money
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, New Jersey
$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, Arkansas
$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, California
$3.1M
Sept. 17-20 Cambia Portland Classic
Columbia Edgewater C.C., Portland, Oregon
$1.75M
Sept. 24-27 Kia Classic
Aviara G.C., Carlsbad, California
$2M
Oct. 1-4 Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give
Blythefield C.C., Grand Rapids, Michigan
$2.3M
Oct. 8-11 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
Aronimink G.C., Newtown Square, Pennsylvania
$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
Nov. 19-22 Pelican Women’s Championship presented by DEX Imaging
Pelican G.C., Belleair, Florida
$2M
Nov. 26-29 OFF (Thanksgiving)
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, Florida
$5M