Monthly Archives: April 2020
2020 LPGA Tour schedule and results
by PGA
Below is the complete 2020 LPGA Tour schedule:
JANUARY
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Jan. 16-19 — Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions (Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club Orlando, Lake Buena Vista, FL); Winner: Gaby Lopez
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Jan. 23-26 — Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio (Boca Rio GC, Boca Raton, FL); Winner: Madelene Sagström
FEBRUARY
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Feb. 6-9 — ISPS Handa Vic Open (13th Beach GL, Barwon Heads, Australia); Winner: Hee Young Park
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Feb. 13-16 — ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open (Royal Adelaide GC, Adelaide, Australia); Winner: Inbee Park
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Feb. 20-23 — (CANCELED) Honda LPGA Thailand (Siam CC, Chonburi, Thailand)
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Feb. 27-March 1 — (CANCELED) HSBC Women’s World Championship (Sentosa GC, Singapore)
MARCH
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March 19-22 — Founders Cup (Wildfire GC, Phoenix, AZ)
APRIL
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April 15-18 — Lotte Championship (Ko Olina GC, Kapolei, HI) (Postponed)
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April 23-26 — Hugel-Air Premia LA Open (Wilshire GC, Los Angeles, CA) (Postponed)
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April 30-May 3 — LPGA Mediheal Championship (Lake Merced GC, Daly City, CA) (Postponed)
MAY
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May 21-24 — Pure Silk Championship (Kingsmill Resort, Williamsburg, VA) (Canceled)
JULY
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July 15-18 — Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational (Midland CC, Midland, MI)
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July 23-26 — Marathon LPGA Classic (Highland Meadows GC, Sylvania, OH)
AUGUST
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July 31-Aug. 21 — ShopRite LPGA Classic (Sea View Dolce Hotel (Bay Course), Galloway, NJ)
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Aug. 6-9 — The Evian Championship (Evian Resort GC, Evian-les-Bains, France)
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Aug. 13-16 — Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open (The Renaissance Club, North Berwick, Scotland)
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Aug. 20-23 — AIG Women’s British Open (Royal Troon GC, Troon, Scotland)
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Aug. 27-30 — UL International Crown (Centurion Club, St. Albans, England) (Canceled)
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Aug. 28-30 — Walmart NW Arkansas Championship (Pinnacle CC, Rogers, AR)
SEPTEMBER
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Sept. 3-6 — CP Women’s Open (Shaughnessy Golf and CC, Vancouver, Canada)
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Sept. 10-13 — ANA Inspiration (Mission Hills CC, Rancho Mirage, CA)
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Sept. 17-20 — Cambia Portland Classic (Columbia Edgewater CC, Portland, OR)
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Sept. 24-27 — Kia Classic (Aviara GC, Carlsbad, CA)
OCTOBER
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Oct. 1-4 — Meijer LPGA Classic (Blythefield GC, Grand Rapids, MI)
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Oct. 8-11 — KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (Aronimink GC, Newtown Square, PA)
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Oct. 15-18 — Buick LPGA Shanghai (Qizhong Garden GC, Shanghai)
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Oct. 22-25 — BMW Ladies Championship (LPGA International Busan, Busan, South Korea)
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Oct. 29-Nov. 1 — Taiwan Swinging Skirts LPGA (Miramar Golf and CC, New Taipei City, Taiwan)
NOVEMBER
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Nov. 6-8 — Toto Japan Classic (Taiheyo Club (Minori Course), Ibaraki, Japan)
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Nov. 19-22 — Pelican Women’s Championship (Pelican GC, Belleair, FL)
DECEMBER
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Dec. 3-6 — Volunteers of America Classic (Old American GC, The Colony, Texas)
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Dec. 10-13 — U.S. Women’s Open (Champions GC, Houston, TX)
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Dec. 17-20 — CME Group Tour Championship (Tiburon GC, Naples, FL)
PGA of America Reschedules 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship for October
by PGA
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA (April 29, 2020) – The PGA of America today announced that the 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship has been rescheduled for October 6-11 at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, provided it is safe and responsible to do so at that time.
The PGA of America will work closely with public health officials at the national, state and county levels through Championship Week. The health and safety of players, spectators, volunteers, rules officials and staff remain the top priority.
The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship was originally scheduled for June 23-28.
“In this unique and unsettling time, it became evident that finding new dates for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship was a prudent choice for the LPGA players, the local community, Aronimink membership and our staff,” said PGA of America President Suzy Whaley. “Throughout the process of making this decision, we appreciated the support we received from our friends at KPMG and the LPGA. Collectively, we remain resolute in our commitment to this Championship as well as helping future generations of women be more successful on and off the golf course.”
One of the LPGA’s five majors, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is a collaboration of the PGA of America, LPGA and KPMG, and focuses on the development, advancement and empowerment of women. The event is held in conjunction with the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit, which will now be held on Wednesday, October 7.
Please visit https://attend.kpmgwpga.com/covid-19 for more information.
PGA Coach Brittany Testa Takes You From the Tee Box to the Green
by PGA
If you’re struggling off the tee box or getting a little quick with your short game, Brittany Testa has a couple drills that will help you work through your woes.
An Assistant Professional at Maidstone Club in East Hampton, New York, Testa breaks sent us a pair of drills you can do in your backyard & the best part about her chipping drill is you get a tasty treat at the end.
https://vimeo.com/412766025
https://vimeo.com/412765920
Former Senior PGA Champions Thank Harbor Shores Volunteers on Social Media
By PGA
As news spread of Jim McAnaw and fellow KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship volunteers generosity to raise over $15,000 for the Lakeland COVID-19 Response Fund, former champions of the event showed their thanks and support.
The funds raised were inspired by Jim McAnaw of Kalamazoo, Michigan, who was offered reimbursement for the cost of his volunteer uniform package, but had other ideas. McAnaw asked that his fee be given to support Spectrum Health Lakeland instead and his act inspired more than 130 more volunteers to do the same.
2019 champion Ken Tanigawa, 2018 champion Paul Broadhurst and 2012 champion Roger Chapman submitted videos to the Championship team to make sure the volunteers of Southwest Michigan understood how appreciated they are.
See Social Media videos here: https://www.pga.com/story/former-senior-pga-champions-thank-harbor-shores-volunteers-on-social-media
The LPGA also showed its support of the Harbor Shores volunteers as a part of its #WeClapForeYou campaign.
Tweet form KitchenAid Senior PGA Champ: Jim McAnaw and the more than 130 volunteers who answered the call in Michigan, which resulted in more than $15,000 donated to Lakeland’s COVID-19 Response Fund. #SrPGA
https://www.pga.com/story/championships-are-dependent-upon-volunteers-one-was-inspired-to-give-back
Improve Your Strength at Home with PGA Coach Thor Parrish
By PGA
As the game of golf has evolved, strength and fitness have become as important as your short game to lowering your handicap & we’ve got workouts to help you with both.
Coach Thor Parrish from Quail Creek Country Club in Naples, Florida, is back with an at-home workout that will help improve your strength and your game without ever leaving the comfort of your living room.
And when you’re done taking care of your fitness, don’t forget to work on your game with with a chipping drill Parrish shared with us.
See videos here: https://www.pga.com/story/improve-your-strength-at-home-with-pga-coach-thor-parrish
Woods, Mickelson to stage TV match with Brady, Manning
By Doug Ferguson, AP Golf Writer
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are ready for a made-for-TV rematch at a time when fans are craving live action.
And this time, they’ll have company.
Turner Sports says quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will join them for a two-on-two match sometime in May. Missing from the announcement were such details as when and where the match would be played, except that tournament organizers would work with government and health officials to meet safety and health standards.
Turner said all donations and fundraising from “The Match: Champions for Charity” would benefit relief efforts for the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event will be televised on TNT, with social and digital content leading up and during the event available through Bleacher Report and House of Highlights.
“It’s on now,” Mickelson tweeted Wednesday afternoon responding to Bleacher Report.
He added that he would be paired with Brady, saying:
“After feeling the sting of defeat the first time around, Looks like @TigerWoods is bringing a ringer to The Match (#PeytonManning). I’m bringing a GOAT. @TomBrady — Ready to hit bombs?”
The first match over Thanksgiving weekend in November 2018 was supposed to be pay-per-view, except that technical difficulties allowed everyone to watch.
It lacked some of wild bets both players had teased, and the trash talking was forced at times. Mickelson ended up winning the $9 million winner-take-all purse in a wedge contest under the lights when the matched ended in a tie.\
Live golf was last seen on television March 12, the first round of The Players Championship as developments with the new coronavirus accelerated at such a rate that sports began shutting down.
The PGA Tour first decided not to have fans at the TPC Sawgrass, then canceled its premier event, and then began canceling or postponing all tournaments across each of its tours.
Woods was not at The Players. The defending Masters champion has not played since he finished last in his Genesis Invitational at Riviera on Feb. 16. Saying his back did not feel ready, Woods chose not to play the Mexico Championship, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship.
Woods and Manning have played together in pro-ams on the PGA Tour.
The Palm Beach Post has reported that Brady, who recently signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has joined fabled Seminole Golf Club in south Florida.
Championships are Dependent Upon Volunteers; One was Inspired to Give Back and Others Followed
By Bob Denney, PGA Historian
There is no question that volunteers are the lifeblood of a sporting event. So, when the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the 2020 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, the event’s volunteers found a way toward a different impact.
Offered reimbursement for the cost of his volunteer uniform package, Jim McAnaw of Kalamazoo, Michigan, had another idea. He contacted the Championship office and asked if his fee could instead be given to support Spectrum Health Lakeland, the event’s medical service partner. Pretty soon, volunteers were given the opportunity to do the same and more than 130 answered the call, resulting in more than $15,000 donated to Lakeland’s COVID-19 Response Fund.
“In volunteering for this event, you’re giving of yourself or a part of yourself to help others,” said McAnaw. “In this, we have a chance to help out people who matter a whole lot more than golf. You say you love golf, but what you really love is your family. There are a bunch of people who are risking themselves going out there to help our families or those around us. They’re the real heroes. They deserve this.”
This May would have been the second KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship volunteering experience for 51-year-old McAnaw, who lives 45 miles northeast of Benton Harbor, home to the Harbor Shores Resort, the Championship site. In 2018, he was a marshal on Hole No. 7, and was looking forward to marshaling again.
“I may have put this idea out there, but it was the event staff that executed it and pulled it together,” said McAnaw. “I lost my dad a few years ago. Some of the best times in my life were on that course with my dad. I want those same times with my boy,” referring to his six-year-old son, Liam.
McAnaw, a graduate of Western Michigan University, is employed by Epredia of Kalamazoo, a global company that focuses on enhancing precision cancer diagnostics.
“This [volunteer donation] is our chance to give back and help others,” he said. “I had signed up to do something, and when I realized this money was available, I felt it was more important to do something with it than just have it returned.”
“Every other year, some 1,500 volunteers answer the call to help showcase our communities through this Championship,” said Ryan Ogle, Championship Director for the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship. “In seven years living in Southwest Michigan, I have always been impressed with our culture of giving back and supporting our neighbors. This selfless act by our volunteers tops the list and it is something I will never forget.”
The Harbor Shores Resort has hosted the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship every other year since 2012. Mark and Kate Seaman have served on the Spectator Services or Championship Office committees, respectively, every time the tournament has been played six miles from their St. Joseph home.
The parents of three grown children, Mark owns a local environmental consulting firm and Kate is employed by a local bank. This is their community.
“[The option to donate] is a great opportunity for people to help, in some way, our healthcare workers who are spread thin throughout our area,” said Kate of this year’s donation to Spectrum Health Lakeland. “Our healthcare workers are putting in a lot of hours and are bracing for more to come.”
“We’re a small community, and we know folks who work there. Nobody is complaining, and they are working hard and trying to stay ahead of this.”
SUSIE MAXWELL BERNING SELECTED AS THE FINAL MEMBER OF THE WORLD GOLF HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2021
by LPGA
Maxwell Berning joins Tiger Woods, Marion Hollins and Tim Finchem in 2021 Induction Class
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (April 22, 2020) – The World Golf Hall of Fame has named four-time Major Champion Susie Maxwell Berning as the fourth and final Inductee of the Class of 2021. Maxwell Berning was selected through the Female Competitor category, learning of her impending Induction from LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan.
“Quite an honor,” said Maxwell Berning. “Just to be in the same room as Mickey Wright, Kathy Whitworth, Judy Rankin and Patty Berg – I tell you I remember when I first was on the Tour, just how nice Patty Berg was to me and I was scared to death, as it was the first time I ever played with Mickey. To be honored alongside them is something I thought would never happen. I never even thought about it. I’m now part of their family, which makes me very proud.”
Maxwell Berning began playing golf at the age of 15 and won three-straight Oklahoma State High School Golf Championships. She was the first female to be offered a golf scholarship from Oklahoma City University and played on the men’s team
After becoming an LPGA professional in 1964, Maxwell Berning earned the Rookie of the Year title. Throughout her career, she won 11 times including an impressive four Majors – the 1965 Women’s Western Open and the U.S. Women’s Open three times in 1968, 1972 and 1973 – all while balancing family life as a mother. She is one of only four women to win the U.S. Women’s Open three or more times.
“I’m excited for Susie,” said Beth Daniel, World Golf Hall of Fame Class of 2000 Inductee. “The thing that makes her stand out is her four Majors which she won while juggling a family. There are very few women in the history of golf that have been able to do that, and it lets female golfers know they can have a family and a career. Nancy Lopez did it. Juli Inkster did it. But before them, Susie Berning did it.”
“Susie perfectly embodies what it means to be a Hall of Famer,” said LPGA Tour Commissioner Mike Whan. “She was a trailblazer from when she first picked up a club throughout her amateur career, and then made a big splash once she reached the LPGA Tour. I think about the short list of individuals – male or female – who have won three U.S. Open titles, let alone four Major Championships, and understand just how incredible that is. She also shortened her career when she made a decision to walk away to focus on family – something every female professional can empathize with and respect.”
“It is an honor to welcome Susie Maxwell Berning into the World Golf Hall of Fame,” said Greg McLaughlin, CEO of World Golf Foundation. “With four Major Championships to her name, her legacy really speaks for itself. Her life and career will impact today’s golfers and future generations to come. We are looking forward to celebrating Susie and sharing her story as a Hall of Fame Inductee.”
Maxwell Berning rounds out the Induction Class of 2021, joining Tiger Woods, Marion Hollins and Tim Finchem. The four Inductees will bring the World Golf Hall of Fame Member total to 164.
The Class of 2021 is elected by the Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee, which discussed the merits of 10 finalists. The Selection Committee is a 20-member panel co-chaired by Hall of Fame Members Beth Daniel, Nick Price, Annika Sorenstam and Curtis Strange, and includes media representatives and leaders of the major golf organizations.
The finalists were nominated by the Hall of Fame’s Nominating Committee, which vetted every candidate that met the qualifications of the Hall of Fame’s three Induction categories.
Click here to download press kit materials for the Class of 2021. For more information on the Induction process, visit www.worldgolfhalloffame.org.
Fairway Tales: PGA of America President Suzy Whaley Breaks Down the Golf Emergency Relief Fund
By Carly Grenfell, PGA of America
Announced on April 13, 2020, the PGA of America established the Golf Emergency Relief Fund with a lead pledge of $5 million and a matching fund for gifts by third parties of up to $2.5 million. This fund will provide short-term financial assistance to workers in the golf industry who are the backbone of our sport and face significant financial hardship, including those suffering as a result of COVID-19.
Suzy Whaley joined Fairway Tales to elaborate on what the Golf Emergency Relief Fund is and how eligible golf industry professionals can benefit from it. She also gets real about what life looks like for her right now: as a mother, as the Director of Instruction at the Country Club at Mirasol and as the President of the PGA of America.
In a time of crisis, Suzy Whaley opens up about what has helped her navigate this time of uncertainty and lead effectively. With so many golf industry professionals being impacted by COVID-19 – both for better or for worse – there are many needs and circumstances to cater to. She explains how communication has been key over the last several weeks and identifies what else it will take to get to the other side of this global pandemic better and stronger.
Suzy Whaley ends with some powerful words of encouragement to those experiencing setbacks from COVID-19. The Golf Emergency Relief Fund is one resource to financially assist PGA Professionals and other golf industry professionals during this time of uncertainty. While Phase 1 of the fund has closed, information on Phase 2 will be available after the grants for the first phase have been processed.
Phase 2 will have a longer application process and distribute grants of up to $3,500 as reviewed and approved by E4E. Individuals receiving grants through the first phase will be eligible to apply for grants in the second phase, but the maximum amount an individual can receive in aggregate from the first and second phase is $3,500.
For more information, you can visit the Golf Emergency Relief Fund FAQs or contact E4E, the sole group reviewing or disapproving all applications, by email golf@e4erelief.org or by phone at 833-386-0338 Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. ET.
The episode is also available on Apple Podcasts.
PGA of America, Topgolf Launch #PlayAtHome Challenge on World Golf Tour
by PGA
The PGA, in collaboration with industry partner Topgolf, is excited to launch the PGA #PlayatHome Challenge on the popular gaming platform, World Golf Tour.
The game encourages golf enthusiasts who are home due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak to play a virtual round of golf on the Bethpage Black course, site of the 2019 PGA Championship.
Top leaderboard scores and a sweepstakes winner from each tier will win 2020 PGA Championship hats, and one random sweepstakes winner will get a piece of signed PGA Championship memorabilia.
The #PlayAtHome Challenge was created to benefit the recently launched Golf Emergency Relief Fund to support golf industry workers facing COVID-19 related financial hardships and medical expenses. To learn more or donate, please visit https://relief.golf.
The tournament is free to enter and open to all WGT players.
