Top Ad
I DIG Radio
www.idigradio.com
Listen live to the best music from around the world!
I DIG Style
www.idigstyle.com
Learn about the latest fashion styles and more...

LPGA looking at 'hybrid’ and ‘wraparound’ seasons

Written by 
Published in Golf
Thursday, 30 April 2020 08:17

When the LPGA returns this summer from its coronavirus break, the fourth event planned is a major championship.

In fact, when the tour restarts in two-and-a-half months, two of the first six events will be majors.

How will qualifying to play the Evian Championship (Aug. 6-9) and the AIG Women’s British Open (Aug. 20-23) be adjusted with so few events leading up to them?

Also, how will priority ranking reshuffles be tweaked?

And how fair will it be at season’s end to take away status from rookies and veterans whose starts were seriously limited by the revamped schedule, with fewer full-field regular tour events to prove themselves?

LPGA commissioner Mike Whan said those are the most pressing questions he and his staff are getting from players looking at the revised schedule.

The LPGA announced another update to its schedule on Wednesday, pushing its season resumption to mid-July.

Whan’s team is exploring the possibility of making unprecedented moves to solve those problems. The group’s evaluating multiple scenarios affecting eligibility and qualifying.

Can you say “hybrid” and “wraparound”?

“Now that we have a more firm start date and a fuller schedule, we're taking a fresh look at all of our eligibility, as it relates to field size, criteria, et cetera,” said Heather Daly-Donofrio, the chief tour operations officer. “Whether or not there will be changes made to any of the criteria is still to be determined, but we've shared with our players that we are taking a fresh look.”

Whan said the tour is examining the possibility the LPGA will create an official season that doesn’t end with the kind of finality players are accustomed to experiencing.

“We're calling it the hybrid, which means at the end of the year, it would be a large reshuffle, but nobody loses their card,” Whan said.

Under that plan, the 2020 season would be official, but priority ranking status in a year-end reshuffle would carry over into 2021. In terms strictly related to eligibility, the 2020 and ’21 seasons would be joined together. If enacted, the Symetra Tour would operate under the same scenario.

Of course, that still leaves large questions, like whether Symetra Tour players have to wait two full years for promotions and what happens to Q-School and Q-Series access.

LPGA commissioner Mike Whan wants to make sure his staff and players have a handle on how testing will work in a revamped world of competition.

“Gets complicated,” Whan said.

LPGA officials say those are details still being sorted as they work through scenarios.

Whan said the tour could go a step further and officially join together the 2020 and ’21 seasons in every way, as a single wraparound season. He said that becomes a real possibility if the coronavirus adds more significant disruption to the schedule, like interfering with the July restart and piling on more cancelations to the nine events that have already been scrubbed.

Of course, Whan’s preference is to complete one official season.

“Quite frankly, [it] is really going to depend on how many of these events we get out, especially how many of these full-field events we get out,” Whan said.

The LPGA played four events before the pandemic shut down play. If completed as now devised, the full 25-event schedule will include 13 regular full-field events, five majors, six limited-field invitationals and one two-player team event.

Before the pandemic, the schedule featured 18 regular full-field events.

Whan likes the financial opportunities the LPGA is still offering its players in its revised schedule, even with the nine tournament cancelations, but he knows challenges remain with the virus so unpredictable. He said he keeps emphasizing the LPGA must keep an eye to the future as it makes decisions affecting this year’s woes. That means making sacrifices now that ensure the LPGA is as strong in ’21 and beyond as it was at the end of 2019.

“The only way COVID really damages the LPGA long-term is if we allow it to by only focusing on 2020,” Whan said.

Read 3806 times

Soccer

Liverpool, Utd campaign to combat tragedy abuse

Liverpool, Utd campaign to combat tragedy abuse

EmailPrintLiverpool and Manchester United have jointly launched an education programme through their...

Breaking down the Premier League title race, and why Arsenal could edge Man City

Breaking down the Premier League title race, and why Arsenal could edge Man City

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsHollywood might struggle to match what looks like being an edge-of-...

Sources: Giroud finalizing DP deal with LAFC

Sources: Giroud finalizing DP deal with LAFC

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsMLS side LAFC is finalizing a deal with AC Milan and France interna...

2026 FIFA


2028 LOS ANGELES OLYMPIC

UEFA

Basketball

MPJ defends brother amid betting investigation

MPJ defends brother amid betting investigation

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsDenver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. said Wednesday night that...

Rockets, with play-in in sight, win 10th straight

Rockets, with play-in in sight, win 10th straight

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsOKLAHOMA CITY -- Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, front offic...

Baseball

Athletics' Andújar has surgery, could miss month

Athletics' Andújar has surgery, could miss month

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsOAKLAND, Calif. -- Athletics outfielder Miguel Andujar had surgery...

Boone to Soto: Don't defer to Yankees veterans

Boone to Soto: Don't defer to Yankees veterans

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsOn the eve of the New York Yankees' season opener at Minute Maid Pa...

Sports Leagues

  • FIFA

    Fédération Internationale de Football Association
  • NBA

    National Basketball Association
  • ATP

    Association of Tennis Professionals
  • MLB

    Major League Baseball
  • ITTF

    International Table Tennis Federation
  • NFL

    Nactional Football Leagues
  • FISB

    Federation Internationale de Speedball

About Us

I Dig® is a leading global brand that makes it more enjoyable to surf the internet, conduct transactions and access, share, and create information.  Today I Dig® attracts millions of users every month.r

 

Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: www.idig.com
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Affiliated