ST. GEORGE, Utah — The LPGA Tour will not return to Utah in 2026 after hosting just one tournament at Black Desert Resort in Ivins, marking another brief stint for women's professional golf in the Beehive State.
According to GolfWeek, the tour informed players last Friday that the Black Desert Championship, which took place in May, will not continue as scheduled. This comes after the LPGA returned to Utah for the first time in 60 years with the inaugural event.
However, the departure doesn't signal a complete end to the relationship. Instead of hosting a tournament, the LPGA has restructured its agreement with Black Desert Resort to make the venue a marketing partner for the entire tour.
“Through this marketing partnership, Black Desert will help advance our mission by increasing opportunity, visibility, and growth across the Tour for the remainder of our agreement,” the LPGA told FOX 13 in a statement. “We are deeply grateful to Black Desert for recognizing the goals we are working towards as a Tour - and for aligning their support to help us achieve them.”
"The move will expand its support and drive greater opportunity, visibility, and growth across the Tour," Black Desert Resort said in a statement of its own to FOX 13.
When contacted, Black Desert managing partner Patrick Manning and a resort spokesman declined to provide additional details about the partnership change.
South Korea's Haeran Ryu won the inaugural – and, unless there is a return in the future, only – Black Desert Championship in May.
For one year, Black Desert and Ivins were able to lay claim to being the only American courses to host PGA and LPGA events on a yearly basis.
The resort will continue its relationship with men's professional golf, hosting the PGA Tour's Bank of Utah Championship. The next tournament is scheduled for October 2026.
