The LPGA Tour announced today that it will resume its 2020 season with back-to-back events in Northwest Ohio.
This will be encouraging news for the Thai lady golfers, including Pornanong Phatlum and the Jutanurgarn sisters who have been in Bangkok for the past few months.
The Marathon LPGA Classic presented by Dana, which had been scheduled to take place July 23-26 at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio, has accommodated the LPGA request to shift its dates and will now be held Aug. 6-9.
One of the longest-running events on the LPGA Tour, the Marathon LPGA Classic will allow spectators on-site following recent approval from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. This schedule adjustment allows the LPGA Tour to add a new three-day event in the Toledo area and provide its Members with an additional playing opportunity during the shortened 2020 season.
The Tour will now return to competition with a new event for the 2020 season, the LPGA Drive On Championship. The three-day, official tournament will be held July 31 to Aug. 2 at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. Televised on Golf Channel, the LPGA Drive On Championship will feature a field of 144 players competing for a $1 million purse and will take place without sponsors, pro-ams or spectators.
“Thanks in part to the generosity of our partners who could not reschedule their events in 2020, we are adding a valuable additional playing opportunity for our LPGA Tour members,” said LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan. “This new event will allow us to test our COVID-19 protocols before we get to welcome back our fans at the Marathon LPGA Classic presented by Dana.”
With the current situation very different in many parts of the world due to Covid-19, it will be interesting to see just how many of the LPGA Asian contingent are able to get to the event in Ohio. For Thai lady golfers, hopefully, it will not be an issue given that the situation in Thailand looks to have been well managed and golf clubs have been open for play since mid-May.
