LPGA Boosts 2021 Schedule With 34 Events
Schedule expanded by two events after COVID-disrupted 2020 schedule
Posted On: December 22, 2020 By :The 2021 LPGA Tour schedule will feature 34 official events across North America, Europe and Asia, with two new events added to the calendar and players competing for $76.45 million in official purses with all events postponed in 2020 due to COVID-19 restored to the schedule.
There are several adjustments to the schedule given pandemic-related challenges that may arise in early 2021 with full-field events not beginning until late February and the Asia Swing has been moved to late April and early May.
The 2021 season will kick off January 21 with the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, with celebrities from the worlds of sports and entertainment. Full-field LPGA Tour competition will start February 25 with the Gainbridge Championship, with a Florida venue to be announced at a later date. The following week, the Tour will head to Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club in Ocala, Florida.
[See the full schedule here]
“We can all agree that 2020, while certainly not the 70th anniversary year that we expected, was a year that we will never forget,” said LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan. “As we look to 2021, we are recapturing the momentum that we had at the beginning of 2020 and we are excited about our future, which will include news of new title sponsors and several significant purse increases.”
A West Coast swing will include events at Aviara Golf Course in Carlsbad, California, starting March 25, before the first major of the year, the ANA Inspiration in Rancho Mirage, California, at Mission Hills Country Club starting April 1. After the major will be events in Oahu, Hawaii, starting April 14 and Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles starting April 22 before three tournaments in Asian.
Following the Asian swing, the LPGA will be at Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia, on May 20 before The Lake Course at The Olympic Club for the U.S. Women’s Open on June 10-13, marking the first time a major women’s competition will be held on the course. The following week, Lake Merced Golf Club will host the LPGA Mediheal Championship. The tour will then have stops in Michigan, Georgia, Texas, Ohio and back to Michigan throughout June and July before a month-long European swing as well as the rescheduled Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The LPGA Tour will return to the U.S. in September as Labor Day 2021 will be a weekend to remember in Toledo, Ohio, as the Solheim Cup will bring the best female golfers from the United States and Europe to Inverness Club. The 2019 competition saw Suzann Pettersen win the Solheim Cup for Team Europe in a battle that came down to the final putt in the final match.
“Inverness Club really stepped up to support the LPGA Tour when we restarted our year at the Drive On Championship. It was one of the toughest courses I’ve played on Tour, and to earn that win was a great way to kick-start the season,” said Danielle Kang, a two-time member of Team USA at the Solheim Cup. “Inverness is going to be an amazing venue for the 2021 Solheim Cup and I know that Toledo golf fans will support us like they always do.”
Two weeks after the Solheim Cup, the LPGA will celebrate another 50-year anniversary at the Cambia Portland Classic. Then in October, for the first time in its 10-year history, the Founders Cup will be held outside of Arizona. The competition will move to Mountain Ridge Country Club in West Caldwell, New Jersey before three more events in Asia and finally, in November, two events in Florida culminating with the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida, from November 18–21.
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