LPGA Tour to resume next month with Ohio tournaments

The LPGA Tour will return from its coronavirus-enforced hiatus next month with back-to-back tournaments in Ohio, officials confirmed on Tuesday. A statement said the 2020 season would resume with a three-day tournament, the LPGA Drive On Championship, beginning on July 31 at Inverness Club in Toledo.

That event would then be followed by the rescheduled Marathon LPGA Classic at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania from August 6-9. The Marathon LPGA Classic will allow spectators on site following a recent approval from local authorities.

The new LPGA Drive On Championship however would take place without fans. "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," LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan said. 

"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."

The 2020 LPGA Tour schedule has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with the last tournament in the calendar taking place in mid-February at the Women's Australian Open.

Since then more than a dozen events have been scrapped or rescheduled, including the France's Evian Championship, which was cancelled last week.