▲ This photo provided by the CJ Group on June 29, 2022, shows Congaree Golf Club in Gillisonville, South Carolina, the venue for the CJ Cup tournament on the PGA Tour scheduled for October 2022. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
▲ In this Getty Images file photo from Oct. 17, 2021, Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland holds the champion's trophy after winning the CJ Cup@Summit at The Summit Club in Las Vegas. (Yonhap)

PGA Tour-tournament

PGA Tour's CJ Cup to stay in U.S. for 3rd straight year

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, June 29 (Yonhap) -- A PGA Tour tournament originally launched in South Korea will take place in the United States for the third straight year in 2022 due to lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, tournament organizers said Wednesday.

The CJ Cup, sponsored by South Korean food conglomerate CJ Group, will be played from Oct. 20 to 23 at Congaree Golf Club in Gillisonville, South Carolina.

The first three editions of the CJ Cup, from 2017 to 2019, were held on Jeju Island as the only PGA Tour event taking place in South Korea. The tournament was then played in Las Vegas in both 2020 and 2021, with travel restrictions in place during the pandemic.

Though most of those restrictions have been eased, CJ Group said it took into account the possible spread of a new coronavirus variant and subsequent changes to quarantine regulations.

All incoming travelers to South Korea must take a COVID-19 test within three days of their arrival, and those who test positive while here must quarantine for seven days -- likely deterring PGA Tour stars from flying to South Korea if the CJ Cup returns to its first home.

Congaree Golf Club, designed by the renowned golf course architect Tom Fazio, hosted another PGA tournament, Palmetto Championship, in June 2021. It came in at No. 39 on Golf Digest's "America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses" rankings last year.

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