CDGA Amateur, Illinois State Amateur canceled due to COVID-19
The Illinois golf calendar took a big hit Friday when the Chicago District Golf Association announced the cancellation of its two biggest and oldest championships.
The CDGA Amateur, which was to be played for the 101st time June 22 to 25 at Bull Valley in Woodstock, and the Illinois State Amateur, slated for its 90th playing at The Club at Wynstone in Barrington July 21 to 23, were dropped due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.
Friday's announcement followed last week's decision by Mistwood Golf Club in Romeoville to call off the Illinois Women's Open. The Western Golf Association also had also canceled its Western Junior and Women's Western Junior Championships. The IWO was to start July 13 and the two Western events were to tee off June 15.
State government officials allowed Illinois' courses to reopen May 1 with a series of restrictions in place. While allowing for limited recreational play, those restrictions hinder the conducting of major tournaments.
"We continue to rely on the guidance of international, national and local health organizations and administrators, as well as the Golf Operational Restrictions set by the state of Illinois, when it comes to making decisions on our events," said Robert Markionni, the CDGA executive director. "Based on current information from these entities we do not think it is feasible to begin safely conducting qualifiers for these events in late May and early June at the standard we are accustomed to, thus unfortunately necessitating the cancellation of these prestigious events."
This is the first cancellation in the history of the Illinois State Amateur, which was created in 1931. The CDGA Amateur last endured a cancellation n 1945, during World War II.
The WGA and Mistwood also cited travel restrictions for the decisions to cancel their tournaments.
The CDGA, which has now has canceled four of its tournaments, also conducts qualifiers for many national events staged by the U.S. Golf Association. The CDGA is targeting July as the month it can begin to conduct qualifiers and the corresponding championships. Its tournament season runs through Oct. 8.
Next event on the CDGA schedule is the June 10 Radix Cup matches, an annual duel between the CDGA's best amateurs and the leading professionals from the Illinois PGA at Oak Park Country Club. That event is currently listed as postponed.
The IPGA, still hoping to reschedule most of its tournaments, has listed the bulk of its events as "postponed."