First LPGA major scratched due to virus concerns
The LPGA Tour lost its first major because of the COVID-19 pandemic when it announced Tuesday the Evian Championship in France has been canceled this year.
The tour cited ongoing travel and border restrictions, along with government quarantine requirements, for not playing the tournament Aug. 6-9. It will return to the schedule next year in Evian-les-Bains.
The tour is set to resume in Ohio with the Marathon Classic on July 23-26. For now, it has majors scheduled in August, September, October and December.
The U.S. Women’s Open at Champions Golf Club in Houston was rescheduled to Dec. 10-13.
The Evian dates to 1994 when it began as a Ladies European Tour event, and it became part of the LPGA schedule in 2000 when it was the Evian Masters. With one of the higher purses in women’s golf, the LPGA designated it as a fifth major in 2013.
It was moved from September to July in 2019 for better weather conditions.
“I have been incredibly impressed by the entire team at the Evian Championship,” LPGA commissioner Mike Whan said. “They worked so hard to host this global event despite the obvious challenges. They know that high-pursed, career-changing events like the Evian are more important than ever, especially in an LPGA year that has been drastically reduced due to COVID-19. I know this was a tough decision for everyone involved, but it’s one that we had to take given the restrictions we faced.”
In other golf news:
• The PGA Tour is leaving the 8:46 a.m. tee time vacant this week at Colonial as part of a tribute to George Floyd and to support efforts to end racial and social injustice.
In a memo to players, commissioner Jay Monahan said there would be a moment of silence in each of the four rounds at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth — to be played without fans — that will coincide with the 8:46 a.m. tee time.
The time reflects how long — 8 minutes, 46 seconds — authorities say Floyd was pinned to the ground under a white Minneapolis police officer’s knee before the handcuffed black man died.
“It has quickly become a universal symbol for the racial injustice faced by the black community,” the memo said. at their alma mater, Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson and former Texans All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins have joined a petition to remove slave owner John C. Calhoun from the name of an honors college at Clemson University.
A proponent of slavery who once called it “a positive good,” Calhoun is a former U.S. vice president under John Quincy Adams in the 1800s.
In an Instagram post, Hopkins said Calhoun’s affiliation with the school is why he doesn’t reference Clemson’s name during his introduction at NFL
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