LPGA Tour to freeze players' status for 2021; Q-School cancelled
Thursday 21 May 2020 14:04, UK
The LPGA Tour will freeze players' status into next season, although will keep the 2020 and 2021 campaigns separate in the record books.
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The Tour has been severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, with 24 events either postponed, cancelled or rescheduled since Inbee Park won the Women's Australian Open in February.
The earliest the Tour will return is the Marathon Classic from July 23-26, leaving a heavily reduced schedule, with LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan announcing that all those with playing privileges in 2020 will have their status carried over into next season.
"As we look to the remainder of the 2020 season and ahead to 2021, we wanted to make sure that the athletes who earned the opportunity to play on the LPGA tour for 2020 have that full season opportunity in 2021," LPGA commissioner Mike Whan said.
"We feel players were not given the season that they earned in '19 for '20. They might have some version of a '20 season, but they don't have a full season to perform under the categories in which they've earned coming into the year."
Current rookies will remain rookies in 2021 even though the 2020 season will officially conclude with the CME Group Tour Championship in December, while the LPGA Tour qualifying school has been cancelled for 2020 and all pre-tournament qualifying for events has been suspended.
Symetra Tour players competing this year also have the possibility up to five promotions to the LPGA Tour, depending on how many Symetra Tour events are able to take place this year..
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"We really felt that the right thing to do was make sure that while Covid-19 is going to affect 2020 for everybody, it shouldn't affect your career," Whan added.
"You shouldn't find yourself back trying to play your way onto a Tour when you probably didn't get a chance to play your way on or off a Tour in the first place. You'll essentially have the same priority position in '21 that you had walking into '20."
