The KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, which would have been the PGA Tour Champions’ second major of the season, has been canceled for 2020 because of Coronavirus pandemic, tournament officials announced on Thursday.
Ken Tanigawa was set to defend his title in the Senior PGA on May 21-24 at the Golf Club at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Mich.
“This was not an easy decision, we know how much this Championship means to our Southwest Michigan community, and the positive impact it has on our local economy, however the health and safety of our community is our priority,” Jeff Fettig, chairman of the Senior PGA Championship, said in a statement.
“We will miss the players and fans, who have all become welcomed extensions of our community over the years. While we are incredibly disappointed that the championship will not return to Benton Harbor in 2020, we know that this is the right thing to do.”
Tournament officials said they explored the option of rescheduling the tournament for later in the year, but that in the end cancellation was “the only option,” in the face of the Coronavirus crisis.
The season’s first major, the Regions Tradition, was set for the week before at Greystone Golf and Country Club in Birmingham, Ala., and has been rescheduled for Sept. 24-27.
The KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, the fourth PGA Tour Champions event to be canceled this season, will return to Benton Harbor in 2022 and 2024.
The Principal Charity Classic, another PGA Tour Champions event that was scheduled for May 29-31, has been rescheduled Sept. 4-6 at Wakonda Club in Des Moines, Iowa. “Iowans have remarkable strength in unifying toward a common cause,” said Dan Houston, Chairman, President and CEO of Principal. “Right now, our collective efforts are focused on immediate response to the current crisis. But when we get through this—and I know we will—we look forward to joining together, once again, at the Principal Charity Classic for great golf in support of Iowa children’s charities.”
Since its inception in 2007, the Principal Charity Classic has raised more than $23 million for Iowa children’s charities, benefiting more than 130,000 kids every year.
