Women & # 039; s PGA Championship postponed to October as LPGA Tour announces restart plans

Australian Hannah Green won the 2019 PGA Women's Championship for her first major

. The PGA Women's Championship has been postponed to October, but the LPGA has announced that it plans to resume the 2020 Tour in mid-July.

The Major, one of the five in the women's game, was scheduled to take place June 25-28 in Pennsylvania, but has now moved to October 8-11.

Other tournaments scheduled to take place in June, early July in Michigan, Arkansas and Ohio have also been postponed.

The LPGA has also announced prize increases at various tournaments.

"One thing has become clear is that there will be no" opening bell "regarding a return to safe play in this new standard of the Covid-19 pandemic," said LPGA- Commissioner Mike Whan.

"To be fair, & # 39; first & # 39; have never been the goal when it comes to returning to play in this new normal. We've put together a schedule we think is so safe as possible, given what we know about travel bans, testing availability and organizing events that will give our sponsors and our athletes be excited to be present. "

The LPGA Tour now resumes at 15 -July 18 at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational tournament in Michigan, followed by two more tournaments in Ohio and New Jersey in July.

"Although July seems a long way off, we are sure that restarting our season in Michigan, Ohio and New Jersey will require continuous improvement in the situation in each of these states," added Whan.

. The wallet is on the rise, with more than $ 56 million (£ 45 million) now available for the rest of the year, he said: “Many of our remaining events will feature higher wallets in 2020, thanks in part to some of our sponsors, who have their events could not resist and make some of their prize money available to increase other wallets.

"In what has been a very challenging year for everyone, we are so grateful to our partners for their creativity, collaboration and commitment to help our athletes get the most out of the play opportunities they will have in this unprecedented season. "

Earlier in April, Whan said the Tour will not resume until after the coronavirus pandemic until the majority of international players can take part in tournaments.

The first major of the season, the Evian Championship , is scheduled for August 6-9 in France, however, with France banning all sporting events, even behind closed doors, until September, that event appears to be in jeopardy.