Drive On Championship in Toledo will be played without fans from July 31; some fans will be permitted at Marathon Classic the following week
Tuesday 16 June 2020 18:13, UK
The LPGA Tour have confirmed their 2020 season will restart late next month with consecutive tournaments being played in Ohio.
There has been no tournament action on the LPGA Tour since the Australian Open in mid-February, but play will resume with the LPGA Drive On Championship at the Inverness Club in Toledo.
The inaugural three-day tournament will start on July 31, with a full field of 144 players competing for a total prize fund of $1m, but spectators will not be permitted to attend.
This event will be followed by the Marathon LPGA Classic at Highland Meadows Golf Club from August 6-9 - the same week as the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park.
The LPGA also announced that a limited number of spectators would be permitted to attend the tournament after obtaining approval from Ohio state Governor Mike DeWine, who also gave the green light for the return of fans to the PGA Tour for The Memorial next month.
LPGA commissioner Mike Whan said: "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.
"We are so appreciative of our longtime partners, Marathon and Dana, as well as the memberships at Highland Meadows and Inverness, for adjusting their schedules and helping us create a valuable two-week stretch in the Toledo area as we work to safely return to competition.
"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."
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