Mike Whan says “fluid” is the word for 2020. The LPGA commissioner had to deliver more bad news on a Zoom call with players early Tuesday morning. This time it was a major that had been canceled – the Evian Championship.
To pass along that news the same week the PGA Tour gets back to action at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas makes it even tougher. The PGA Tour stopped playing in March due to COVID-19. The LPGA stopped in mid-February.
To help LPGA fans and observers better understand why the LPGA’s first event back in Toledo, Ohio, won’t be until late July, Whan put together a short video and Q&A on the tour’s website.
For those wondering why the LPGA isn’t playing without fans like the PGA Tour, Whan said that one of the core reasons sponsors sign on to back an LPGA event is to bring a community together.
“Whether it’s their hometown or the hometowns of their employees, customers or vendors, it’s the coming together that they enjoy,” he said. “The LPGA isn’t just a good show: You’re part of the show. You get to meet these athletes; you get to play in pro-ams; you get to have dinner with our players. It’s what makes our events special. We’re not just good seats and parking. We integrate into our checkwriters’ business.
“So, when it comes to making that call 45 days out, I have to ask that check writer: Are we delivering the value you’re paying for? In most cases, when it comes to an LPGA Tour event, if they can’t bring their customers together; if they can’t bring their employees and their families together and do it in front of the hometown we’re supporting, the value quotient doesn’t make sense.”
Whan reiterated that he has to make decisions about events 45 days in advance, and that given the information that’s now available regarding travel for Evian, there wasn’t much of a choice.
“Anybody who follows the news of the virus knows that border crossing has been our biggest challenge,” said Whan.
“I give the country of France a lot of credit for being able to shut down completely and do all they could to keep the virus at bay. They’re just starting to re-open now. And while I do think there might be some European crossing over the summer, we knew that by the beginning of June, we would have to make a decision based on the data we had at the time. And at the beginning of June, it became clear that we could not travel into France and play a competitive event without a 14-day quarantine.”
"We’ll be back. But as I’ve said many times, getting back is a responsibility, not a race."
With the return of the @PGATOUR this week, @LPGACommish Mike Whan answers questions about the LPGA schedule and what fans may expect for the rest of 2020 and beyond.
FULL Q&A ⬇️
— LPGA (@LPGA) June 9, 2020
As for the other upcoming international events, Whan said he feels “pretty good” about going to the United Kingdom in August for the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open and AIG Women’s British Open.