AUGUSTA, Georgia – The PGA Tour and PGA of America on Saturday issued statements in response to Georgia’s controversial new voting laws, with the Tour saying it will not change its end-of-season event to be played in the state in August.
The Masters Tournament, which starts this week at the Augusta National Golf Club, is expected to address the issue on Wednesday, when President Fred Ridley will hold his annual pre-tournament press conference.
The PGA Tour FedEx Cup end-of-season event, the Tour Championship, is played annually at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. The PGA of America hosts the KPMG Women’s PGA championship, scheduled for June at the Atlanta Athletic Club.
Citing its financial commitment to the local community and several charities, the PGA Tour said it would not move the Tour Championship.
“The Tour Championship’s commitment to East Lake has helped our partners to transform troubled neighborhoods into healthy and prosperous ones, which is the key to ending the cycle of intergenerational poverty,” said the PGA Tour in its statement. “The economic and charitable benefits that led to these substantial changes would not continue if we simply moved away from those in need.”
The PGA Tour added, however, that “our intention to organize an event in a specific market should not be interpreted as indifference to the current conversation about voting rights”.
“The PGA Tour fully supports efforts to protect the right of all Americans to vote and to remove any barriers that might prevent citizens’ voices from being heard and told,” the statement said. “It is the foundation of our great country and a critical national priority to listen to concerns about electoral repression – especially from communities of color that have been marginalized in the past – and to work together to make voting easier for all citizens.”
The PGA of America, in its statement on Saturday, said: “The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is a partnership between three organizations committed to diversity, equity and inclusion: PGA of America, LPGA and KPMG. Like many entities, we are monitoring developments related to the new state legislation on access to voting. We believe that elections must be accessible, fair and safe and support broad voter participation. “
The Major League Baseball announced on Friday that it would change Atlanta’s All-Star game this summer in response to changes in the state’s voting.
The PGA Tour also hosts an event in Sea Island, Georgia, at the end of the year.