The Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper is planning for spectators, Tournament Executive Director Jerald Andrews announced Tuesday, a day after the PGA Korn Ferry Tour unveiled plans to resume its schedule.
Andrews and Korn Ferry Tour President Alex Baldwin emphasized that the tournament will follow guidelines set forth by the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control, the Springfield-Greene County Health Department as well as the City of Springfield and Greene County.
The PCCC’s fundraising events are scheduled from July 17-27, with pros playing at Highland Springs Country Club from July 23-26. Price Cutter Supermarkets will be in its 22nd year as a presenting or title sponsor of the tournament, which benefits nearly 50 Ozarks children’s charities.
“Certainly, any support from the community will be much more meaningful this year because charities have been hit hard by the financial effects of the global pandemic,” Andrews said. “I also emphasize that the safety of our fans, volunteers, staff and players will be our No. 1 priority. Overall, we truly appreciate Price Cutter’s tremendous support, as well as the efforts of the Korn Ferry Tour’s leadership in charting this course. By mid-July, they will know the best way to accommodate fans.”
The Korn Ferry Tour paused ahead of its March 19 event but plans to resume the week of June 8 at TPC Sawgrass (Dye’s Valley Course) in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. That marks the first of 23 events remaining on the 2020 schedule. Six events are scheduled before the calendar reaches the PCCC. The first four events will be closed to the general public, the Korn Ferry Tour announced.
However, the Tour will not have a graduating class this year into the PGA TOUR. In years past, the Korn Ferry Tour has awarded 50 TOUR cards annually – 25 to the top money winners at the end of the regular season, 25 through the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. Instead, the plan is to combine this year’s remaining tournaments with those in 2021 in order to determine its graduating class.
That said, the Korn Ferry Tour has established a performance benefit for the top 10 money winners in 2020. They will be granted access into all PGA TOUR additional events for the 2020-21 season.
“While we won’t have the opportunity to graduate a Korn Ferry Tour Class in 2020, we feel our reimagined wraparound schedule – with newly created playing opportunities – is the best solution to our season that has been disrupted by the COVID-19 crisis,” said Korn Ferry Tour President Alex Baldwin. “We greatly appreciate the support of our tournaments, title sponsors and Player Advisory Council in getting to this point. As we’ve said on several occasions, we will resume play only when it is deemed safe to do so by leading health authorities and government agencies and our tournaments do not negatively impact the critical efforts in the healthcare world and our communities.”