Savannah Golf Championship rescheduled, fans allowed

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Weeks after the RBC Heritage was rescheduled for this summer, now Savannah’s pro tournament is back on the slate.

The Savannah Golf Championship, previously postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, has been rescheduled for the fall at The Landings Deer Creek Course with fans in attendance.

"As long as it’s safe to do so, as long as the public health officials are comfortable with what we have in place, as long as we’re following all the protocols in place, we’re going to be putting someone in seersucker on Sunday,” tournament director Cheyenne Overby says.

The Korn Ferry Tour announced the revised schedule on Monday, including the Savannah tournament. Championship week will tee off September 28 with tournament play beginning October 1 and wrapping up October 4.

Overby says conversations had been ongoing for a few weeks and this date was finalized recently. Of the few dates that were discussed, she says this September-October crossover made the most sense.

Even if it does include a college football Saturday.

“Our first look was at the Georgia football calendar,” Overby laughs. "Georgia does play that weekend, but we’re comfortable going up against the Georgia-Vandy game. ”

All tickets sold for the original 2020 tournament will be honored this fall, and there are still tickets available for the rescheduled date.

Overby says her team is getting back to work to re-plan a golf tournament in a span of four months. She says one of the new challenges is preparing for an event in the middle of the COVID-19 outbreak and making sure all fans and players are safe.

“We’re starting to think about those things, even if they’re aren’t restrictions. How can we make sure our fans know we care about them, we want them to be safe, we want them to enjoy our tournament?" Overby says. “We’re going to have increased hand washing stations, increased hand sanitizing stations. We’re talking about measures we can take in our hospitality venues.”

One of the issues with that planning is knowing what the situation will be in September. It’s a great unknown the Championship team is tackling.

“That is part of the challenge for us. We don’t know what’s going to be happening September 28," Overby admits. "But certainly, we’re going to learn a lot in the next few months, especially as Korn Ferry tournaments return to play.”

Overby said the tournament is working on rescheduling several fan promotions for the new week of the tournament, but nothing has been finalized yet.

Revised 2020 Korn Ferry Tour Season schedule:

June 8-14: Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass, TPC Sawgrass (Dye’s Valley), Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
June 15-20: The King & Bear Classic at World Golf Village, The King & Bear GC at World Golf Village, St. Augustine, Florida (Saturday finish)
June 22-28: Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank, Oakridge CC, Farmington, Utah
June 29-July 5: TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes, TPC Colorado, Berthoud, Colorado
July 6-12: TPC San Antonio Challenge at the Canyons, TPC San Antonio (Canyons Course), San Antonio, Texas
July 13-18: TPC San Antonio Championship at the Oaks, TPC San Antonio (Oaks Course), San Antonio, Texas (Saturday finish)
July 20-26: Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper, Highland Springs CC, Springfield, Missouri
July 27-August 2: Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Aetna, The Club at Indian Creek, Omaha, Nebraska
August 3-9: WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by KraftHeinz, Pumpkin Ridge GC (Witch Hollow), North Plains, Oregon
August 10-16: Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco, Hillcrest CC, Boise, Idaho
August 17-23: Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship, Ohio State University GC (Scarlet Course), Columbus, Ohio
August 24-30: Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance, Victoria National GC, Newburgh, Indiana
August 31-September 6: Lincoln Land Championship presented by LRS, Panther Creek CC, Springfield, Illinois
September 7-13: Evans Scholars Invitational, TBD, Chicago, Illinois
September 21-27: Wichita Open Supporting Wichita's Youth, Crestview CC, Wichita, Kansas
September 28-October 4: Savannah Golf Championship, The Landings Club (Deer Creek), Savannah, Georgia
October 5-11: Orange County National Championship presented by Knight 39, Orange County Golf Center & Lodge (Panther Lake), Winter Garden, Florida