PGA’s decision kills Korn Ferry Tour visit to LC
The biggest golf tournament ever scheduled for Lake Charles has fallen victim to the nation’s coronavirus precautions.
Capping off a crazy day of cancellations in the nation’s sports world, the inaugural Lake Charles Championship stop on the PGA’s Korn Ferry Tour was called off this year.
The PGA Tour announced Thursday night that it was shutting down its premier tournament, The Players Championship, after one round and suspending all tournaments for the next three weeks.
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That wipes out the Lake Charles stop on the Korn Ferry Tour, which was scheduled for March 26-29 at the Country Club course at the Golden Nugget.
Also canceled was the tour’s Chitimacha Louisiana Open in Lafayette, which was scheduled for next week.
“There are no plans to reschedule these events at this time,” said Stewart Moore, the director of communications for the Korn Ferry Tour.
Originally, the PGA Tour said earlier Thursday that the final three rounds of the Players Championship would be played without fans, as would the Tour’s other tournaments for the next three weeks.
But that changed late Thursday.
“We did everything possible to create a safe environment for our players in order to continue the event through the weekend,” read a statement from the tour. “But at this point — and as the situation continues to rapidly change — the right thing to do for our players and our fans is to pause.”
Admission to the Lake Charles Championship was going to be free for the public after a local car dealership this week bought all the tournament’s ground tickets.
The tickets were going to be available at a number of locations, including the Golden Nugget box office.
Landing the tournament was a coup for the city’s golf community.
The Korn Ferry Tour, once called the Web.com Tour among other names, is one step below the PGA Tour and the most common route for young players aspiring to reach the big stage.
It also includes more familiar names trying to get back to the PGA Tour.