Tour golf’s juggling act in the face of the coronavirus pandemic continued Friday with the LPGA and the Ladies European Tour moving the dates of the Evian Championship in France.
The women’s major championship will move back two weeks.
Originally scheduled for July 23-26, the Evian Championship is moving to Aug. 6-9, the week the Olympic women’s golf competition was scheduled to be played, before the Tokyo Games were postponed.
Evian will now be played the week before the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open and the same week as the U.S. Women’s Amateur (Aug. 3-9).
“We greatly appreciate the willingness of Franck Riboud, Jacques Bungert and the team at the Evian Championship to move dates and align with our European swing,” LPGA commissioner Mike Whan said. “This adjustment makes for easier travel for players and assists us as we look to reschedule previously postponed events during a crowded summer and fall timeframe. Like all our corporate partners, the team at the Evian Championship has always taken great steps to elevate the stage for our athletes. This 2020 schedule shift is yet another example of them supporting our players and our tours during a very difficult time around the world.”
The move also opens up that July date to be used for rescheduling of American events that have been postponed. The pandemic has affected nine LPGA events so far this season, causing the cancellation of three events, the postponement of five others and the moving of the ANA Inspiration from April 2-5 to Sept. 10-13.
The LPGA is scheduled to resume play May 14-17 at the Pelican Championship in Belleair, Florida.
“Our main concern is obviously to ensure that the players from all over the world and our entire ecosystem continue to pursue their sport in the best possible conditions,” Riboud, chairman of the Evian Championship, said. “When LPGA commissioner Mike Whan told us about his scheduling issues, we naturally stepped up. This is how our partnership has worked for the past 20 years. We have total support from our sponsors, who like us, uphold the values of solidarity and mutual aid that this unprecedented situation unquestionably calls for.”
