The LPGA says it is still planning on playing its first major women’s golf championship of the season April 2-5 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage. But the LPGA says it is well aware of what is happening in Riverside County, where a public health emergency declared over the coronavirus could impact the ANA Inspiration.
“The LPGA Tour continues to closely monitor all information related to the coronavirus in partnership with our security and medical teams, the (Centers for Disease Control) and the (World Health Organization),” the women’s tour said in a statement to The Desert Sun on Monday. “At this time, there are no plans to cancel any upcoming LPGA Tour events.
“However, like other major sporting leagues and entities, we are planning for different scenarios and will take into consideration all relevant information, including the guidance and directives of local health officials in the regions in which we play.”
The BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells became the first major sporting event in the United States canceled because of the COVID-19, or coronavirus. Attention now moves to the ANA Inspiration, the LPGA event played in the desert each year since 1972 and one of five major championships on the women’s tour.
The LPGA has been hit hard by concerns over the coronavirus. Three tournaments in Asia (one in Thailand, one in Singapore and one in China) have already been canceled by the women’s tour this year. The LPGA hasn’t played a tournament since Feb. 16 at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.
After that event, the second of two LPGA events in Australia in February, the LPGA advised its players to travel to the United States rather than having many of its Asian stars return to their home countries.
Echoing its statement when the three Asian events were canceled, the LPGA said it is the health and well-being of everyone connected with a tournament that is the main concern.
“We are in frequent contact with our members, nearly all of whom have been in the United States for some time. While we plan to move forward with our events as scheduled, we have added some heightened measures of precautions to protect athletes and fans at our tournaments, including installing additional sanitizer stations, reminding all people on-site to practice safe hygiene and providing players with autograph cards,” the statement said.
“The health and safety of our players, fans, employees, partners and volunteers will always remain the LPGA Tour’s highest priority and we empathize with those affected by the coronavirus around the world,” the statement concluded.
The LPGA is not scheduled to play an event this week and will play for the first time in more than a month at the Volvik Founders Cup in Phoenix on March 19-22. That event is followed by the Kia Classic in Carlsbad before the tour comes to the Coachella Valley for the 49th annual ANA Inspiration.
The statement made no reference to what might happen if the ANA Inspiration is canceled or postponed next month or if the tournament could be played later in the year. The LPGA season after July 1 offers an open week in August and two open weeks in September, both months that feature hot weather and golf courses that might not be in pristine shape because of the weather in the Coachella Valley.
The statement also said nothing about what the “different scenarios” of playing the tournament could be, such as playing the event without a gallery. That idea is being floated by other sports leagues in the United States and has actually happened for soccer games in Italy in the last week.
The city of Rancho Mirage, the host city for the ANA Inspiration, announced Monday it is closing its library and observatory through at least March 22 as well as cancelling upcoming concerts in the park. An appearance in the Rancho Mirage Speakers Series by tennis legend Chris Evert, set for March 17 at the Annenberg Center of Health Sciences at Eisenhower Medical Center, also has been canceled.
The ANA Inspiration has never been canceled or postponed since it debuted in 1972. In 2018 the tournament required a Monday finish because an eight-hole playoff between Inbee Park and eventual winner Pernilla Lindberg could not be finished Sunday because of darkness.
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