Korn Ferry Tour adds fall events to new 2020-21 wraparound schedule
The Korn Ferry Tour has added five fall events to round out the 2020 portion of what will become the 2020-21 wraparound season, one that has been derailed by COVID-19 and will resume next month.
The circuit had previously announced plans to resume competition with a pair of events in Florida in mid-June, but has now added five more events after the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in late August, which traditionally marks the end of the season. Among them is a new event Oct. 8-11 at Orange County National in Orlando, which will be the last event of the year on a course that last year hosted the final stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q-School.
The four other added events were all on the original 2020 schedule but were postponed or canceled because of the coronavirus: the Lincoln Land Championship, Evans Scholars Invitational, Wichita Open and Savannah Golf Championship. All will now be played between Sept. 3 and Oct. 4, with no Korn Ferry event held during the week of the rescheduled U.S. Open (Sept. 17-20).
Only six Korn Ferry events were completed before competition was halted in March because of the coronavirus. Last week the PGA Tour announced new eligibility parameters for 2021 that will prevent the traditional graduation of the top 25 Korn Ferry players at season’s end. Instead players will compete in a longer wraparound season, with full cards available in August 2021.
The top 10 Korn Ferry players after this year’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship will gain entry into PGA Tour opposite events next season but will not have full PGA Tour status.
The schedule additions mean there will be 23 events this year as part of the 2020-21 season. The original 2020 schedule featured 28 tournaments, including three Korn Ferry Tour Finals events.
As with the PGA Tour, the first four Korn Ferry events upon resumption of play will be contested without fans present. That includes new events in Ponte Vedra Beach and St. Augustine, as well as the Utah Championship and TPC Colorado Championship. Subsequent decisions on fans attending events “will be dependent on available protocols that could be implemented to ensure the health and well-being for all involved.”