The LPGA tour is back. After 166 days, the 2020 season resumes with consecutive events in Toledo, Ohio, starting with the inaugural LPGA Drive On Championship at the Inverness Club. The tour did so for the last time in February at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open , the fourth tournament of 2020, for a 166-day break.
Rolex rankings n. 2 Nelly Korda highlight this week’s event as the player with the highest score on the pitch. The three-time winner of the LPGA Tour is joined by three others in the top 10 of the Rolex women’s world rankings: American companions Danielle Kang(No. 4) e Lexi Thompson (No. 9), as well as Australian Minjee Lee (No. 8). Together with Korda, Kang and Thompson, American and European players on the pitch will be able to take a peek at the Inverness Club, which will host the 2021 Solheim Cup.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE LPGA UNIT ABOUT THE CHAMPIONSHIP
- This is the inauguration of the Drive On Championship
- This is the fifth tournament of the 2020 season and the first of two in a row in Ohio this year
- Inverness Club hosted another LPGA tour event, the 1954 Inverness Invitational; the best-ball tournament was won by Betty MacKinnon and LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame member Betsy Rawls
- Opened in 1903, Inverness boasts a prestigious championship history, including four US Open Championships (1920, 1931, 1957, 1979), two PGA Championships (1986, 1993), two US Senior Open Championships (2003, 2011) and more recently the 2019 Junior Junior Amateur
- Inverness will also host the 2021 US Solheim Cup
- Originally created in 1916 by Donald Ross, the Inverness Club championship course was restored and modernized in 2016 by Andrew Green
TEST UPDATE ON COVID-19 WEBSITE
The first day of Monday of the LPGA tour COVID-19 pre-tournament tests at the LPGA Drive On Championship returned a positive result.
Member of the LPGA tour Gaby Lopez tested positive for COVID-19 and withdrew from this week’s event. Lopez has self-isolated and is collaborating with Tour and local health officials on finding contacts.
“I was very excited to go back to playing the Tour after this long break and while I am disappointed that I will have to wait a little longer, I am happy to have been able to take the test and to make sure I do not put anyone else at risk “said Lopez. “I am self-insulating and will follow all CDC and LPGA guidelines to return to competing on the Tour safely. I feel good and I can’t wait to go back to playing on tour. “
Following the directions of the CDC and our medical directors, the LPGA protocols will require Lopez quarantine for a minimum of 10 days. On the tenth day, she will take another saliva test and undergo a medical evaluation to determine if she is allowed to return to the competition.
The LPGA will have full pre-tournament test results for the LPGA Drive On Championship later this week.
FRESH OF COLLEGE AND BACK FROM BAHAMAS, ROOKIE VALENZUELA IS READY TO PLAY
The Wednesday before the Drive On Championship, the first event of this type in the history of the LPGA Tour and the first event since the pandemic interrupted the season, debutant of the LPGA 2020 Tour Albane Valenzuela he feels refreshed after six months at home in the Bahamas and is excited to finally start his LPGA career.
“I have just spent time there with my family. I moved there two years ago, so it’s really a home base for me. And I just practiced in Albany with my brother, my father too. So, it was nice to be home for a long period of time and try to do some different things, “said Valenzuela, who received advice on how to play Inverness Club from her brother Alexis, who competed in the 2019 US Junior Amateur held on the famous layout. “I trained a lot. I spent a lot of time with friends. I went to the beach and I just got away from golf, and I still practiced hard, so I took advantage of the long run.”
In a sense, the pandemic was an advantage for Valenzuela, while taking advantage of the unexpected break to graduate from Stanford University. Halfway through her final year, she finished sixth in the LPGA Q Series and decided to make the leap to the LPGA Tour. But when the COVID-19 neglected her beginner year, the 2016 Swiss Olympian took advantage of her time on the island finishing the three classes necessary to obtain the diploma.
“I also thought a lot about my decision during the quarantine. If I hadn’t made that decision, maybe I wouldn’t have been able to turn professional next year, “said Valenzuela.” I was a little crazy to think I had the opportunity to turn professional once and the I read. Maybe it’s a career decision that changed my life. So it was a little crazy, but at the same time, so grateful that I finished my degree, Stanford graduate. I mean, that was mine too I dream, it’s just to complete my studies, and to have the opportunity to be on the LPGA and a Stanford graduate, I mean, I couldn’t ask for more. “
His dream was always twofold, with a degree in Political Science and a career in the LPGA Tour. On Friday, the 22-year-old will start all over again in complete safety.
“I think everyone was getting ready to go back on tour and I think LPGA really took the time to prepare everything, took all the right measures to get back on tour, and I think it was reassuring to see what PGA Tour did before about us, “said Valenzuela. “I think it really gave us confidence to see that we could really go back out there and feel safe and protected.”
LAW REJUVENTED IN TIME FOR THE RESTART OF THE LPGA TOUR
Bronte’s law I found out that the LPGA tour was starting to postpone US events due to COVID-19 on March 12th, his 25th birthday. She had just flown to Arizona from her home in England after taking advantage of the cancellation of Asia canceled by the Tour in February to spend time with her family.
Three days later, he was on a return flight across the pond, where he remained in England until the quarantine in the United States before the LPGA Drive On Championship. “It seemed to me that it was the best choice to go back to Britain,” said Law. “At the time I thought maybe two months or something. You know, it was obviously much longer than that in the end. But I had time with my family that I would never have, and I am very grateful for it. I try to look at all the positive aspects. “
Law spent most of his time following the strict quarantine procedures of the United Kingdom, where he had to adapt his practice and lifestyle. There was only one hour of exercise outside of one day and one trip to the grocery store per week. With a home gym, Law said he also kept his practice schedule thanks to a network in his backyard and virtual coaching lessons.
Once the courses reopened, Law participated in the Rose Ladies Series, organized by PGA Tour player lead champion Justin Rose and his wife Kate. The pair created the mini circuit to create opportunities for British women to continue playing during the pandemic, an effort Law appreciated.
“It is incredible what they have done. I can’t thank Justin and his wife enough for what they have shown, the importance of women’s golf, “said Law.” We don’t want it less than kids do. I think it’s the huge thing that people often forget. , is that we work hard like them and we don’t necessarily get the opportunities they have. But we are willing to do everything we can to get them, and I think it shows them and gives the girls in the UK the opportunity, at a time like this, to show what is truly incredible. “
While Law is aiming for Inverness, she said this week is much more than just a tuning tournament, as she will try the Solheim Cup 2021 site. Law has said she is determined to return with the European Cup team next year. Solheim.
“I think I played here three years ago in a pro-am when I was playing the Marathon. Even then just playing, I was like “Wow, this is a really good golf course”. Obviously I hadn’t even played my first Solheim Cup when I was thinking about that, but I knew I wanted to be here. Solheim is definitely something I know I want to be an important part of my career, “said Law.” I think it’s going to be a really good test. It gets a little windy out there and there are a lot of altitude changes in some places. You have to be smart for sure. I think it’s a way around the problem, and since it’s a match-play field, there is sure to be some great golf on display. “
FEATURES LPGA RINEE POWELL GRANTS IN THE DOMESTIC STATE OF POWELL DRIVING ON THE CHAMPIONSHIP
On Monday, the LPGA tour announced the top five recipients of the new Renee Powell Grant. The $ 25,000 grant program honors Renee Powell’s ongoing commitment to golf and will help current and potential USGA LPGA * golf courses for girls build partnerships and awareness opportunities with youth organizations serving black girls.
“To us, [Drive On] it means that our personal and organizational commitment to leaving this game even better than what we have found, to make golf even more enjoyable and inviting for all people in the future, “said Commissioner LPGA Mike Whan. “That’s why we hope you will join us in the LPGA * USGA Girls Golf program which is literally changing the face of the game and inviting more girls than ever before in the history of golf.”
Thanks to Race Fore Unity’s support in the golf industry in June, the LPGA Foundation raised $ 50,000 for the Renee Powell Grant, which will provide access, instructions, equipment and additional expenses necessary to get introduced to the game of golf and stay committed to the sport. Through this effort, the LPGA Foundation will intensify its commitment to creating an engaging, safe, inclusive and diverse environment to empower, inspire and transform the lives of all women and girls through the game of golf.
Tiffany Joh, who took part in the Race Fore Unity event, posted a photo on Instagram in support of Grant with a personal anecdote about being a young Asian girl and the importance of screen representation. “Representation is important and I hope that in the future the game of golf represents how wonderfully different we are collectively,” he said in his caption.
“Race Fore Unity was about a month ago and it’s so exciting to see all the work that Morgan (Pressel), Jeehae (Lee) and Henni (Zuel) have paid off,” said Joh. “I think I am growing back and not seeing many Asian women on TV doing sports, and that really changed the day I saw Se Ri Pak take off his shoes and hit that iconic shot out of the water at Blackwolf Run. LPGA players like Cheyenne Woods and Mo Stackhouse are such fantastic role models and I see them having the same kind of impact on the next generation and it’s so exciting to watch.
“Representation is so important, especially for a girl, and I hope that the legacy we pass on to the next generation of golfers is that which feeds inclusiveness and embraces diversity.”
