LPGA cancels September's Kia Classic

The Kia Classic, slated for September 24-27 in Carlsbad, Calif., has been removed from the 2020 LPGA Tour schedule, the tour announced in a press release on Thursday evening.

“We appreciate all of the efforts by Kia to try and make this event happen this year, and we look forward to playing again at beautiful Aviara Golf Club in 2021,” LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan said in a brief statement.

The cancelation leaves the LPGA with 11 events remaining on its season calendar, with tournaments in China and Taiwan recently canceled, and two others in Asia possibly in jeopardy. The tour played four events before the COVID-19 pandemic forced a five-and-a-half month hiatus. It has completed three since it re-started, and the AIG Women's British Open in Scotland is being contested this week.

In its testing for COVID-19, the tour has announced that two players have tested positive, and both have since tested negative and returned to competition. Two other players have withdrawn from an event after their caddies tested positive. Upon arriving in Scotland for the Women's British Open, having flown in a charter plane from Ohio, no players tested positive.

Three LPGA majors remain on the schedule—ANA Inspiration in Rancho Mirage, Calif. [Sept. 10-13], KPMG Women's PGA Championship in Newtown Square, Pa. [Oct. 8-11] and the Women's U.S. Open in Houston [Dec. 10-13].