Augusta National Golf Club on Monday said it is donating 2 million U.S. dollars to assist the Augusta area in the fight against the coronavirus that has already forced it to postpone the Masters tournament it typically hosts every April. 

The club, the only permanent home for one of golf's four majors, said one million dollars would go to Augusta University to help expand coronavirus testing, while another million would go to the Central Savannah River Area's recently-launched COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund. 

"It is our hope these gifts will help address the many challenges brought about by the coronavirus throughout the city of Augusta and the greater region," Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said in a new release. 

"We believe Augusta National has an important responsibility to support and protect the community who has so generously and consistently supported us for many years." 

Augusta National was scheduled to host the world's best golfers in the year's first major from April 9-2 but earlier this month postponed the event until "some later date" because of concerns about the coronavirus.  

Meanwhile, a portion of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, site of the U.S. Open and the crown jewel of American tennis, is set to transform into a 350-bed temporary hospital on Tuesday, the USTA said, as the coronavirus outbreak strains resources in New York City.

"The site is likely to be non-Covid patients, and we will evaluate based on need," New York City Emergency Management spokesman Omar Bourne said about the conversion of an indoor tennis facility at the venue.