The Illinois PGA Will Play a Modified Schedule Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
GLENVIEW, Ill. – June 23, 2020 – During the last two months the Illinois PGA has been working to reschedule and reformat its tournament schedule for the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite having to reduce the number of events, this season will still feature all four major championships, all three national qualifying events, five stroke play events and three pro-am events.
The 2020 Illinois PGA tournament season officially kicks off Monday, July 6 with the first Stroke Play at The Hawk Country Club. This event will mark the first of five stroke play events. The second Stroke Play event will be played on Monday, July 20 at Riverside Golf Club, with the third Stroke Play taking place the following week at Onwentsia Club on Monday, July 27. The fourth Stroke Play event is scheduled for Monday, August 17. The location for this event is still to be determined. The final Stroke Play event will be held in conjunction with the Illinois PGA Match Play Championship on Tuesday, September 15 at Elgin Country Club.
The 71st Illinois Open, Illinois PGA Professional Championship, Illinois PGA Match Play Championship and Illinois PGA Players Championship all remain on the 2020 Illinois PGA tournament schedule and serve as the Sections four Major Championships.
“We worked diligently over the past few months with our Board, Officers and Tournament Committee to develop a tournament schedule that was both safe for participants while preserving the Major Championships and other key events,” said Carrie Williams, Executive Director of the Illinois PGA and Illinois PGA Foundation. “We’d like to thank all of the PGA Professionals and facilities for their dedication and flexibility to help us create our new 2020 tournament schedule.”
As previously announced, the 71st Illinois Open has been restructured to a field of 156 players and will be held on August 3-5. All three rounds of the State Championship will be played at White Eagle Golf Club in Naperville. The Illinois PGA Professional Championship will be held on August 24-26 at Medinah Country Club – Course #1. This event also serves as the qualifier for the 54th PGA Professional Championship. The top nine finishers at the Section Championship will qualify for the National Championship.
The Illinois PGA Match Play will be contested at Elgin Country Club on September 15-18. New for 2020, round one of the Illinois PGA Match Play will be stroke play qualifying for seeding into the event. The low 64 players will qualify for the second round beginning on Wednesday. The Illinois PGA Players Championship will also feature some changes. The event is set to take place on October 5-6 at Conway Farms Golf Club and will be an invitational event for the top 35 players in the Bernardi Player of the Year Points race.
In addition to the Illinois PGA Professional Championship, the Illinois PGA Assistant Professional Championship and Illinois PGA Senior Professional Championship will serve as National qualifiers. The Assistant Championship will take place on Monday, July 13 at Cress Creek Country Club. The top three finishers will qualify for the 44th National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship at The PGA Golf Club on November 12-15.
The Illinois PGA Senior Professional Championship will be played at the Merit Club on August 10-11. The top eight finishers will qualify for the Senior PGA Professional Championship at the PGA Golf Club on October 15-18.
The Illinois PGA previously announced the cancellation of the Radix Cup, Thompson Cup and Royal Cup Matches. In addition to those events, the Illinois PGA has cancelled all Senior and Assistant Stroke Play events, Stroke Play #6 and the Senior Masters. The full list of cancelled events is listed below:
– Illinois PGA Pro-Pro-Pro Scramble
– Illinois PGA Spring and Fall Pro-Assistant
– Illinois PGA Senior Stroke Play Events #1, #2, #3, #4
– Illinois PGA Assistant Stroke Play Events #1, #2
– Radix, Thompson, and Royal Cup Matches
– Illinois PGA 1-Day Pro-Am (Both)
– The Illinois PGA Senior Masters
– Illinois PGA Stroke Play #6
Despite the cancellations listed, the Illinois PGA is excited to offer one new event to the schedule. The Illinois PGA Tournament Committee has added a two-day team event at the end of the season to be contested at Metamora Fields Golf Club on October 19-20. The committee is still working on entry and format details.
The Illinois PGA will also be hosting three Pro-Am events in 2020. The 2nd annual Ryne Sandberg Illinois PGA Foundation Pro-Am will be held at Onwentsia Club on October 1, and the Illinois PGA Fall Travel Pro-Am will be heading to Sand Valley Golf Resort in Nekoosa, Wisconsin on October 4-5. The final Pro-Am event of the 2020 season will be the Meyer-Brown-Miller Invitational, which will again be hosted at Pinehurst Resort on October 19-21.
About the Illinois PGA/Illinois PGA Foundation
The Illinois Section of the PGA of America is a professional organization serving the men and women golf professionals in northern and central Illinois who are the recognized experts in growing, teaching and managing the game of golf. The Illinois PGA is responsible for the administration of competitive golf tournaments, educational opportunities, support programs and growth of the game initiatives. With over 840 members and apprentices, the Illinois PGA is one of the 41 regional Sections that comprise the PGA of America. The Illinois PGA Foundation focuses its community efforts on promoting the goodwill and growth of the game with an emphasis on activities that benefit youth. Foundation initiatives include: GolfWorks Illinois, Youth-based Scholarship Funds and the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame. For more information about the Illinois PGA and the Illinois PGA Foundation, please visit www.www.ipga.com and join us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
CONTACT:
Kevin Quinn
Illinois PGA Communications
708.336.1294 mobile
kbquinn@pgahq.com