LPGA Tour makes its return to the Northwest, sans fans

The LPGA Tour made its annual return to the Pacific Northwest with the LPGA Cambia Classic at Columbia Edgewater Country Club, but it was anything but normal. There were no fans, no bleachers, no sky boxes and no scoreboards. In fact, the only way the players could check on the scores was to take a look at their cell phones during the round.

But through it all Georgia Hall came through in the end, winning the tournament in a playoff with Ashleigh Buhai, making a par on the second hole of the playoff.

The Portland LPGA event is the longest-running non-major on the LPGA schedule. While many LPGA Tour events were cancelled or postponed this year, the LPGA Cambia Portland Classic went on, although it was a three round tournament this year, not four.

With no fans, the Golf Channel and the internet were two of the few ways to check out the tournament.

Hall had a one-shot lead standing on the 18th tee at Columbia Edgewater Country Club but could only manage a bogey, setting up the playoff. Hall’s par on the second playoff hole was enough for her second career LPGA victory.

Normally Hall would have known where she stood in the tournament, but on the 18th tee she wasn’t sure, but she knew where she stood after winning the playoff.