Tag: Marathon Classic

Japan’s Nasa Hataoka wins rain-shortened Marathon LPGA Classic

Hataoka hit just two shots on Sunday before play was suspended and the tournament was shortened to 54 holes.

Nasa Hataoka hit two shots on Sunday at the Marathon LPGA Classic before play was suspended. She took a 40-minute nap in her car, drank some coffee and listened to music before getting out to stretch.

And then, suddenly, Hataoka was once again a winner on the LPGA without hitting another shot. After rain saturated Highland Meadows Golf Club for hours, the LPGA shortened the event to 54 holes. Hataoka collected her fourth LPGA title and her first since 2019.

“Not being able to win recently I was kind of losing my confidence,” said the Japanese star through an interpreter, “but I guess this win is really giving me confidence.”

Play on Sunday began at 7 a.m. and was suspended at 9:40 a.m. Hataoka, 22, finished at 19 under, six strokes ahead of Americans Elizabeth Szokol and Mina Harigae, who earned the best finish of their LPGA careers.

“Unfortunately, at about 9:40, just with the amount of rain that we had we started losing some greens,” Donna Mummert, LPGA senior manager of rules and competition told Golf Channel. “That’s what took us down this morning and rain just continued and here we are. We went back out a couple times thinking we were going to catch a break. Fairways were ultimately what made the decision for us.”

Due to a Monday forecast that called for more rain and storms in the greater Toledo area, officials determined that Monday was not an option. Next week’s Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational begins on Wednesday in Midland, Michigan.

Hataoka played with a pink ribbon on her hat in support of Jane Park and Pete Godfrey, whose 10-month-old daughter Grace remains in critical condition in Texas. Hataoka donated $1,000 to the GoFundMe account set up by Park’s close friend and fellow tour player Tiffany Joh. So far, $78,445 has been raised in support.

“I know Jane and I also know Pete very well,” said Hataoka, “so it was really, really sad to hear the condition of her little baby.

“I’m just going to wish them best for them and hope that we can meet up again.”

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Hataoka began the Marathon with a blistering 10-under 61 and her 19-under 194 set the tournament’s 54-hole scoring record. The previous mark of 195 was set three times – Se Ri Pak (1998), Paula Creamer (2008) and Eunjung Yi (2009). All three players went on to win the tournament.

Hataoka credited her recent work with Gary Gilchrist on distance control with her irons for carding a career-best 61 Thursday that included six consecutive birdies on Nos. 15-2. (She started on the back nine.)

Hataoka tied Hiromi Kobayashi for the third-most victories by a Japanese player, behind Ayako Okamoto (17) and Ai Miyazato (9). The victory bodes well for Japan’s top-ranked player ahead of the Summer Games in Tokyo.

“I’m really, really going to work hard to represent all the Japanese golfers that couldn’t make it to the tournament and go for the gold,” said Hataoka, who was disappointed to learn that fans will not be allowed at the Olympics after Japan declared a state of emergency due to COVID-19.

Hataoka lost in a playoff to Yuka Saso last month at the U.S. Women’s Open and played with an Olympic Club ball-marker in Toledo.

“I think I’m using it to remind myself that I’m not going to go through that kind of situation and I’m just going to keep going,” she said. “Every time I look at it, it reminds me to just keep going and go for a win. That’s what I use it for.”

Next week, Hataoka will team up with Lexi Thompson at the Dow, but neither will continue on to the Amundi Evian Championship in France. Five top-15 players in the world are skipping the tour’s next major, including Danielle Kang, Hannah Green and Saso.

“It was a really hard decision for me whether to play Evian or not. Because Olympics was my dream to be able to play in it, I decided to go back early and get ready for the Olympics,” Hataoka said.

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Meet the LPGA’s newest power player, Bianca Pagdanganan, who leads in driving distance

A rookie currently leads the LPGA in driving distance. Unlike Bryson DeChambeau, Bianca Pagdanganan didn’t seek out extra yardage.

A rookie currently leads the LPGA in driving distance with a 287.462 average. Unlike Bryson DeChambeau, Bianca Pagdanganan didn’t seek out extra yardage. In fact, she can’t really even explain where her power comes from.

Her mantra, repeated throughout a recent phone conversation, is “I try not to force anything.”

Pagdanganan’s coach at Arizona, Laura Ianello, points to “insanely” fast hips and use of the ground as key to her power. She’s 4 yards longer than Maria Fassi on the LPGA stats list and 5 yards ahead of Anne van Dam.

Pagdanganan – who for the record isn’t really a fan of protein shakes – consistently carried the ball 275 yards in college, but really doesn’t keep track of how far she’s hitting it now. LPGA courses often force her to keep driver in the bag. Pagdanganan carries her 3-wood 245 yards.

Like a Major League pitcher with the God-given gift of a fastball, Ianello marvels at Pagdanganan’s rare talent. It’s why they called her “the unicorn” in college.

“(Bianca) is eventually going to make a ton of money on the LPGA once she can dial in those numbers with her short irons,” said Ianello.

Not to mention her length advantage on the par 5s. At the Marathon Classic in August, Pagdanganan made back-to-back eagles on the closing par 5s in the second round to shoot 67.

The 22-year-old, who carded an NCAA record-tying 61 in college and helped the Wildcats win the 2018 NCAA Championship, has teed it up in four tournaments so far on the LPGA and made the cut each time, her best finish coming at the Drive On Championship at Inverness where she tied for 28th. She’s got a good chance of making it into next month’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Bianca Pagdanganan (Photo submitted)

Pagdanganan gets excited each time she checks the pairings at an event to see who she’ll get to meet the next day. She particularly enjoyed recent rounds in Portland alongside Mo Martin and Sarah Kemp, commenting on their kindness and taking notes on the meticulousness of their pre-shot routines.

The petite Martin plays a game that is foreign to the long-hitting Pagdanganan, but the rookie is wise enough to understand how much she can still learn.

“You just start to realize that there are other parts of your game that you need to polish,” she said.

While still in college, Pagdanganan played alongside long-hitting Angel Yin in the first two rounds of the Marathon Classic and routinely outdrove her 10 to 20 yards, said Ianello, who was on the bag that week. It was clear then that Pagdanganan would be among the longest – if not the longest – on tour.

The biggest takeaway, however, came when she played alongside a very pregnant Stacy Lewis in Toledo and was outdriving the former No. 1 by more than 50 yards. Lewis shot 6 under that day, and Pagdanganan finished even par.

Pagdanganan is not a technical player. Driver is her favorite club in the bag and late in high school, she started to gain distance. It wasn’t until college, when people started to comment on her length, that she began to take note.

She asked her coach in the Philippines how she should respond to questions about her length.

“I literally just try to hit it as hard as I can and it goes far,” she said. “I guess the reason, they say, is the lag in my swing.”

Two-time LPGA winner Jennifer Rosales was Pagdanganan’s idol growing up, and she’d often see her giving lessons at Wack Wack Golf and Country Club in Manila.

Ianello says Pagdanganan, a humble player who is now living her childhood dream on the LPGA, wants to put the Philippines on the map. There was never a lazy day for her back in Tucson. The inner drive was obvious.

Bianca Pagdanganan hits into a net while stuck at home.

Because of her father’s heart condition, Ianello said, Pagdanganan sat tight in San Diego during the LPGA’s extended break, choosing to quarantine rather than get out and play in mini-tour events. She was perfectly content with that decision, knowing that her game would keep until her rookie season could reboot.

“That alone right there shows you the lack of ego that she has,” said Ianello.

Her father bought a Swing Caddie and net for the backyard in San Diego so that she could work on her distances. No drivers though.

“I don’t want to scare the neighbors,” she said with a laugh.

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Danielle Kang wins again in Toledo as good friend Lydia Ko suffers 18th-hole collapse

Kang’s closing par for a 68 clinched the $255,000 prize. She’s the first player to win back-to-back events since Shanshan Feng in 2017.

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Danielle Kang won for a second time in as many weeks, but the lingering talk about the Marathon LPGA Classic centered around the stunning way a once-dominant Lydia Ko managed to lose the tournament.

A woman with one of the most enviable short games in golf misjudged one shot after another on the par-5 18thafter her second shot settled on a cart path behind the green. After Ko took what felt like an eternity to play her third shot, the rest of the collapse happened in short order. A failed bump into the bank for her fourth rolled back into a greenside bunker. Her fifth from a good lie settled 10 feet from the hole. She two-putted for double-bogey, a gut punch felt all the way down in New Zealand.

Ko was commenting on the weather when she arrived at the flash area to talk to reporters. She was calm, cool and gracious.

“When you look back afterwards you are like, maybe I should have done this, maybe I should have done that,” said Ko. “But, I mean, what can you do?”

As Ko talked, her good friend Kang was gathering on the putting green at Highland Meadows, preparing to give her second victory speech this month. Ohio has been good to her.

“I mean, there are really no words, to be honest,” said Kang of what happened to Ko on the 18th. “As a competitor, friend, I mean, she’ll bounce back and she’s a great player and she’s proven to be one of the best players in the world.”

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Kang, 27, entered the final round four strokes back of Ko and after three-putting the 12th, she turned to her caddie, Oliver Brett, and said “Man, that’s too costly.”

Brett responded by telling her that she was five shots back of Ko with six to play.

“I like that,” Kang replied.

Brett laid out the challenge plainly to Kang and she responded, making two consecutive birdies. When she stood on the 18th tee, Kang trailed Ko by a single shot.

What happened next left everyone’s head spinning in absolute shock, though such drama certainly would’ve played out better with a packed grandstand. Only volunteers, officials and media rimmed the final green.

“It’s like putting a big musical together and all the stars of the show are here,” said longtime tournament director Judd Silverman, “but there’s nobody in the theater to watch.”

Ko’s double-bogey dropped her into a share of second with Jodi Ewart Shadoff at 14 under. Kang’s closing par for a 68 clinched the $255,000 first-place prize. She’s the first player to win back-to-back events since Shanshan Feng won the TOTO Japan Classic and the Blue Bay LPGA in the fall of 2017.

Marathon LPGA Classic scores | LPGA schedule

Jin Young Ko, the current No. 1 has yet to compete on the LPGA in 2020. She isn’t signed up for the next two events in Scotland either. Because of changes to the Rolex Rankings due to COVID-19, the LPGA can’t project whether or not Kang will move up to No. 1 after this victory. She moved to No. 2 after clinching last week’s title at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Inverness.

“I think a big part of how I’ve approached the golf game is I’m really not focused on a lot of other things other than just getting better at things I want to get better at,” said Kang. We always have room to improve, and that’s the beauty of golf.

“At the same time, I’m able to tell myself I did a good job with certain things and positive reinforcements to myself so I’m not too critical. That’s something that I think I’ve changed in how I approach my own game.”

Now a five-time winner on the LPGA, Kang made herself at home for her fortnight in Toledo and credited Amy Yang, who stayed in the room across from her at the hotel, for making enough food to share every night.

“I ate out one time,” she said, “and it was McDonald’s.”

Few distractions off the course, and a growing confidence in what she’d worked on with Butch Harmon in Las Vegas during the LPGA’s 166-day break, left her focused on one thing: learning golf courses.

Kang proved a quick study, and now she’ll head to Scotland for two weeks where she’ll try to tame a style of play that hasn’t suited her in the past.

“I’m really excited to go to Scotland actually,” she said. “Links golf hasn’t been my forte, but I’ve kind of proven that what I worked on with different parts of my game. Inverness and Highland Meadows have been two different golf courses completely, and I was able to play well on both of them.”

Ko gets on tonight’s charter flight to Scotland with plenty to think about, though if her post-round interview is any indication, she won’t let Sunday’s catastrophe linger.

“I think there are so many positives from the week,” said Ko, “and I feel overall like more confident in my game. I think that’s really the goal I had coming into this stretch after quarantine.

“Obviously, I would’ve loved to be the one holding the trophy, but I think if somebody said, ‘Hey, you’re going to be second at Marathon coming into the stretch I would’ve been, OK, cool.’ I would take that.”

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While several LPGA weddings were postponed, newlywed Ally McDonald beams after 66

Ally McDonald enjoyed a more eventful pandemic break than most of her LPGA peers.

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Ally McDonald enjoyed a more eventful pandemic break than most of her LPGA peers. The 27-year-old married Charlie Ewing on May 30 at a small wedding in West Point, Mississippi.

What was supposed to be a celebration with 250 people in a big church was pared down to 50 in a small chapel.

“We really wanted to abide by everything and get as many people as we possibly could,” said McDonald. “So we waited for the numbers to get from 20 to 50 for an outside gathering and we kind of went for it.”

McDonald, who opened with a 5-under 66 at the Marathon LPGA Classic, trails co-leaders Lydia Ko and Danielle Kang by two strokes. The 2019 Solheim Cup rookie missed the cut at last week’s LPGA Drive On Championship at Inverness.

McDonald originally planned to marry Ewing on July 31 during the Olympics. With LPGA events being pushed back, the couple decided to move their wedding forward.

“We seated immediate family inside,” said McDonald, “and a few friends were able to stand outside and see.”

The smaller gathering made it easier to spend quality time with loved ones, which McDonald called an added blessing. The original honeymoon that was planned for Vermont moved instead to Tennessee.

Ewing, a Dallas native, works as an assistant coach for the men’s golf program at Mississippi State, McDonald’s alma mater. McDonald’s former coach, Ginger Brown-Lemm, introduced the couple.

While McDonald tied the knot in 2020, several other LPGA players were forced to postpone their weddings to 2021. Anna Nordqvist was scheduled to marry tour caddie Kevin McAlpine in a castle in Scotland on July 11. They have since rescheduled for 2021. Nordqvist joked on Instagram that the 10 dozen personalized golf balls they ordered with their original wedding date will be “lost in the bushes shortly on golf courses.”

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Happy Wedding Day @mcalpinekev 💙!! Today, July 11 2020, was suppose to be our wedding day… well it was ”our day” for a year and a half. 👰🏼🤵🏼We might not be walking down the aisle today but at least we get to spend the day together. We now look forward to celebrate with our closest friends and family in 2021. After a year and a half full of planning, it definitely has been a weird and dissapointing time having to postpone our wedding (I feel for all other couples having to do the same), cancel my bachelorette party and deal with all the logistics having a European wedding… (and we bought about 10dz of personalized golfballs w our original date on them that now probably will been found lost in the bushes shortly on golfcourses 🤣😂) Im sure Kev will be delighted with all new wedding ideas (and additions) I will come up with in the coming months 😉…. the wedding might seem far away right now, but I cant wait to be your wife- and that – will be worth waiting for. Love, Future Mrs. McAlpine 💙

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Germany’s Caroline Masson postponed her wedding to Jason McDede, who caddies for Nelly Korda, to 2021. Hometown sweethearts Brittany Altomare and Steven Stanislawzyk had a destination wedding planned this fall in Italy. The Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, natives will celebrate next year.

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Two-time champ Lydia Ko on top at Marathon Classic alongside recent winner Danielle Kang

Lydia Ko and Danielle Kang lead the LPGA’s Marathon Classic, the second event back after the coronavirus break, after the first round.

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Lydia Ko rose to fame as a bespectacled prodigy by making the game look easy. It felt like old times on Thursday at the Marathon Classic, when Ko made five birdies from tap-in range.

After Ko hit the flagstick on the fifth hole from the rough, playing competitor Amy Olson turned to her and said, “At one point, one of these shots is going in.”

Alas, Ko had to settle for eight birdies in an opening 7-under 64. She shares a two-stroke lead with good friend Danielle Kang, who won last week’s LPGA Drive On Championship seven miles away at Inverness Club.

Only five players broke par at Inverness, where relentless rain made a tough course all the more demanding. It’s a different story here at Highland Meadows, where perfect scoring conditions led to a boatload of low scores.

“Golf is a silly game where one day you feel like everything is going your way,” said Ko, “and the next day you’re like, ‘What am I doing?’”

SCORES: Leaderboard at Marathon Classic

Ko certainly felt that way at last Saturday at Inverness when she carded a second-round 80. Kang’s post-round interview actually helped Ko turn things around. Ko heard Kang talk about a conversation she’d had with Annika Sorenstam about the need to stay aggressive at a 54-hole tournament. The Kiwi committed to that for Round 3 and beyond.

“Like aggressive doesn’t mean you’re going at every pin,” she explained. “For me, the term aggressive is like even if … I’m playing safe, I’m still being aggressive and committed over that shot.”

Ko hit every green and every fairway on the back nine last Sunday and said the confidence in being aggressive suited her well.

A two-time winner of the Marathon Classic, Ko had a scoring average of 68 at Highland Meadows going into Thursday’s opening round. Her opening 64 is her lowest round on the LPGA since the 2017 Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia.

Danielle Kang during the first round of the Marathon LPGA Classic at Highlands Meadows Golf Club. (Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports)

Ko began working with Sean Foley over the LPGA’s COVID-19 break and said they’ve FaceTimed this week while Foley’s at the PGA Championship in California.

“He just said there is not a lot that can go wrong in my swing,” she said, “so I think when somebody tells you that it gives you the confidence.”

Kang went out for ice cream with Lizette Salas after her victory at Inverness, keeping with tradition. She was hoping for Graeter’s, her favorite, but settled for Baskin Robbins. Amy Yang cooked her dinner.

Then it was back to work for Kang, who jumped to No. 2 in the world, her highest career ranking. Nelly Korda, who opened with a 67, dropped to third.

“I worked a lot on my putting for the last couple days,” said Kang, who had 27 putts in her bogey-free round. “Didn’t really like how the ball was coming off my putter. But I think that I kind of got a good feel out of it; then today my putting worked really well.”

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A grieving Emma Talley set to wear mic on LPGA in effort to share Cullan Brown’s story

Emma Talley will be mic’d up at the Marathon LPGA Classic on Thursday, and she’s doing it in honor of her late friend Cullan Brown.

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Before Emma Talley hit the road for the LPGA’s restart in Ohio, she had dinner with her best friend Cullan Brown. She ordered the turkey bacon from Our Daily Bread, his favorite sandwich shop in Eddyville, Kentucky.

“We had strawberry cake,” she said. “He was as normal as ever and as happy as ever.”

Talley never dreamed it would be the last meal they’d share together. On Tuesday, Brown, a standout at Kentucky, died from osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer in his left thigh. He was 20.

Talley was set to be mic’d up for the first round of the Marathon LPGA Classic alongside Christina Kim and Jillian Hollis in the 12:53 p.m. ET group. She backed out on Tuesday night, thinking it would be too much.

All she wanted to do was pack up and race back home to Kentucky to comfort his parents, Rodney and Emily Brown, and his sister Cathryn. To be wrapped up in their tight-knit community and share memories of the pure-hearted man who breathed joy into the world.

But instead, she decided to stay. She’ll wear a mic while competing on Thursday for the first time, too. The sociable Talley might not be herself tomorrow, but she’s determined to do what Cullan would want. She wants everyone to know his story.

“I’m just going to try to get through it and be strong for him,” said Talley, “and hopefully play well for him, too. I definitely think I’ll have the best angel in the world and the best second caddie. He’s going to be there every step of the way.”

(Courtesy of Emma Talley)

There are fewer than 1,000 cases of osteosarcoma diagnosed each year. Because of that, new research is rare. Talley hopes Cullan’s story will help to change that. Nearly every text message she has received since his passing tells the same story: Cullan was their favorite.

“Every tournament, whether he won or got last,” said Talley, “he’d say ‘I hope the golf is good, but I’m here for the good food and the good fun.’ ”

It’s in that spirit that Talley remained on site at the Marathon Classic, wiping away tears as player after player offered her condolences.

Only weeks after Brown made the cut at the PGA Tour’s Barbasol Championship last year, finishing 10 under, the team announced that he would be stepping away from the 2019-20 season to start chemotherapy.

Brown made seven starts for the Wildcats and garnered four top-20 finishes in the 2018-19 season. His opening 64 at the Mason Rudolph tied for the lowest 18-hole score in the coach Brian Craig era. His 54-hole total of 206 tied for the best mark of the season.

Photo: Kentucky Athletics

When Brown got sick, teammate Jay Kirchdorfer started a GoFundMe page to help ease the family’s financial concerns. Donations surpassed $25,000 in six days. It’s now over $56,000. Both the Kentucky men’s and women’s teams had the hashtag #B4B – “Birdies for Brownies” stitched onto their clothing last season to honor Brown.

It’s still so much of a shock. Talley, a former NCAA and U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, remained hopeful throughout Cullan’s nearly year-long battle, believing that a young man so strong and so full of life would beat this cruel disease. It was only three weeks ago that Cullan was preparing a hibachi dinner for loved ones. Only last week that her mom was crying from laughing so hard at Cullan’s jokes.

One reason Cullan chose to stay in Kentucky for college was that he wanted to be home for hunting season. The two friends would often enjoy a little target practice off of Cullan’s back porch.

“That’s one reason I came out today,” she said. “I needed some fresh air and I wanted to be where he loved.”

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Perrine Delacour WDs from Marathon Classic after caddie tests positive for COVID-19

Perrine Delacour withdrew from the Marathon Classic after her caddie tested positive for COVID-19.

TOLEDO, Ohio – The LPGA has announced that Perrine Delacour withdrew from the Marathon Classic after her caddie tested positive for COVID-19. That brings the LPGA’s total positive case to four, with two players and two caddies missing action since the tour began testing.

Delacour is the first player forced to withdraw due to a caddie’s results. The 26-year-old Frenchwoman will now begin a 14-day quarantine. Both she and her caddie have been working with the LPGA and local health officials on contact tracing.

“After learning that my caddie tested positive today, despite not having any symptoms, I have withdrawn from this week’s event in order to self-isolate following CDC and LPGA guidelines,” said Delacour in a statement. “I feel perfectly normal and I wanted to do the right thing. I am looking forward to being back competing as soon as it is safe to do so.”

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Full pre-tournament testing results for the Marathon LPGA Classic will be available later this week. As the Marathon field wasn’t full, Delacour will not be replaced.

In all, a total of 466 pre-travel and onsite COVID-19 saliva tests were given to players and caddies before last week’s LPGA Drive On Championship began on July 31. Three tests came back positive: Marina Alex, Gaby Lopez and one caddie.

LPGA commissioner Mike Whan was asked to assess the tour’s COVID-19 situation thus far, especially in the context of how other sports are faring.

“I never feel like you win in this process,” said Whan, “but you’re right, we’ve probably had closer to 1,000 tests all in, and certainly the numbers are low, but geez, we’re a long way from claiming victory.”

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LPGA testing update reveals Marina Alex tested positive for COVID pre-travel

The tour conducted 233 pre-travel tests of players and caddies prior to them departing for this week’s LPGA Drive On Championship.

The LPGA has released an update on its COVID-19 testing results following its initial three weeks of testing.

The tour conducted 233 pre-travel tests of players and caddies prior to them departing for this week’s LPGA Drive On Championship. Tour player Marina Alex, who is asymptomatic, tested positive during this phase as did one caddie. The caddie was only scheduled to work Drive On and did not travel to the event. Alex is expected to return to competition at next week’s Marathon Classic after a 10-day quarantine.

“At the advice of my primary care physician, I have remained in isolation while continuing a testing regiment which has successfully provided three negative tests in the last seven days,” said Alex in a statement on twitter. “I have exhausted every resource possible to be able to compete at Inverness, however due to current CDC guidelines and the current protocols the LPGA has put in place for our safety my official clearance date does not allow me to compete this week.”

The LPGA further tested 233 players and caddies on-site in Toledo this week. Mexico’s Gaby Lopez tested positive and two tests are still pending after their initial results were inconclusive. The tour did not reveal any more information about whose results are pending or their status for Friday’s opening round, but anticipates getting results prior to the start of the first round.

Lopez has withdrawn from the event and is self-isolating.

Last week on the Symetra Tour, 205 players and caddies were tested prior to traveling to the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship in Battle Creek, Michigan. Fatima Fernandez Cano tested positive and withdrew from the event. She has since recovered and been cleared to play.

The Drive On Championship kicks off at 7 a.m. on Friday at historic Inverness Club.

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It’s official: No fans at Marathon LPGA Classic in Toledo

The LPGA confirmed on Thursday that the Marathon LPGA Classic, the second event back, will be played without fans after all.

As it turns out, it will be a relatively quiet two weeks in Toledo when the LPGA kicks off its restart at the end of this month. The tour confirmed on Thursday that the Marathon LPGA Classic, the second event back, will be played without fans after all.

Initially, the Marathon was slated to have limited fans. It would have fallen after the PGA Tour’s Memorial Tournament, which was also initially scheduled to have fans. The PGA Tour reversed course on that decision earlier this month, later announcing it would play the rest of the season without spectators on the ground.

For now, at least the first two LPGA events will follow suit. The LPGA officially returns July 31 with the Drive On Championship at Inverness Golf Club in Toledo.

When LPGA commissioner Mike Whan spoke with media during a Wednesday conference call, allowing a small number of fans to attend the Marathon was still on the table. It would have required what Whan calls “aggressive roping” at Highland Meadows.

“While we are extremely sad that spectators won’t be able to attend this year’s tournament, we know it is the right thing to do for the safety of the community, our sponsors, volunteers and LPGA players,” said executive director Judd Silverman. “The good news is that all four rounds of the tournament will be nationally televised live on the Golf Channel and we still have the opportunity to raise money for the 25 northwest Ohio children’s charities that will benefit from this year’s tournament.”

The Marathon has had a large charitable footprint, part of which comes from its pro-ams. Those have been reduced from five to two for this year’s event. Pro-am participants will be subject to the same COVID-19 testing protocols as players, according to the LPGA.

According to USA Today, Ohio has 69,311 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 3,075 deaths as of July 15. Over the past seven days, 9,130 new cases have been reported, up 24.8 percent from the previous week.

“The organizers of the Marathon Classic and the LPGA have made the right decision in not allowing fans to attend this year,” said Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio. “I know it was a difficult decision, but they have made the right call to put the health and safety of players and fans first.”

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LPGA’s restart plan allows for Marathon pro-ams and a possible fan presence

The uncertainty of 2020 has prompted a flood of questioning from LPGA members, but commissioner Mike Whan has worked to provide options.

As the weeks piled up from the LPGA’s February stoppage of play because of the coronavirus pandemic, one thing remained constant on Pernilla Lindberg’s calendar: a weekly meeting of the LPGA’s player directors.

“For quite a while, it was the only thing I had on my schedule,” said Lindberg, a major winner who sits on the LPGA’s six-player advisory board.

Lindberg spoke on a Wednesday media call with other LPGA officials to give clarity to a restart plan shaped greatly by player feedback. After so many weeks without an LPGA event, the tour’s return is coming down the pipe quickly. The tour’s first round back, at the newly created Drive On Championship at Inverness Golf Club in Toledo, Ohio, is on July 31.

The uncertainty of 2020 has prompted a flood of questioning from LPGA members, or as LPGA commissioner Whan joked, “we are leading the league in questions per capita.” But the commissioner has succeeded in providing options for his players, making it possible for players who aren’t itching to compete to hold back a little longer.

The next five events on the schedule take tour members from a Toledo double-header to two events in Scotland and then back stateside for the Wal-Mart NW Arkansas Championship.

There’s even a major embedded in there, the AIG Women’s British Open. It will be the first LPGA major played in 2020.

For players who aren’t quite ready to dive in, an LPGA decision made earlier in the year preserves the status a player took into 2020 for 2021. Essentially, it keeps players who are uncomfortable competing from taking a hit when it comes to status.

“Start, don’t start, play a major, don’t play a major, but there’s a lot of options here in just these first five weeks of our restart,” Whan said.

The Drive On Championship will be played without fans, and Whan said the Marathon Classic at Highland Meadows the following week will be played whether or not the decision is made to allow fans. Allowing a small number is still on the table and could be achieved with what Whan calls “aggressive roping” at Highland Meadows.

Marathon has been one of the tour’s leading pro-am stops, and has raised a significant amount of money for charity in past years. This year’s event will still feature two pro-ams on Tuesday (off-site) and Wednesday of tournament week, down from the five originally planned. They won’t be in the usual scramble format – to avoid four players standing on top of each other all day – and participants will be subject to the same testing protocol as players.

The LPGA will utilize saliva testing across the board, both at home and on site. If a player arrives on site on Monday, her results will likely be processed by Tuesday afternoon. Until results come back, players will only be allowed on the course and on the practice facilities – not indoors. The tour’s testing protocols and safety measures – social distancing, hand-washing, face masks – have been discussed at length with the tour’s medical director.

The LPGA will charter flights from Detroit to Edinburgh, Scotland, and then back again from Glasgow to Rogers, Arkansas. Players will be tested before departure and upon arrival. Should a player test positive at any point before or during an event, the LPGA will help arrange a quarantine location. On-site staff or tournament partners will help with meal and grocery delivery and other details like laundry and medical assistance.

While the $5,000 sum for a positive COVID-19 test is drastically lower than the up to $75,000 a PGA Tour player would get under the circumstances, Whan called the LPGA approach more of an assurance that incremental costs associated with a positive test – like those brought on by the need to stay behind in quarantine – were covered. The player stipend was never intended to supplement income.

“If you feel like getting COVID, as a result you should somehow be compensated for opportunity cost,” he said of the message to players, “maybe not the year to play because it’s just not something the LPGA could have a regular diet of and still be trying to build a schedule for everybody.”

Whan is quick to acknowledge how much the LPGA has benefited from being able to watch how the PGA Tour has gotten back in action these past few weeks. The whole sports world has. Golf is a small world, and the phone lines have been active between the two professional tours. In fact, someone from the LPGA is on the phone with someone from the PGA Tour on a daily basis. Communication has been open with the R&A and the European Tour, too.

As Whan said, “It’s a pretty cool time in golf despite being a terrible time in general.”

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