Wed, Apr 08, 2020 page16

• The Open canceled for first time since WWII

  • AFP, LONDON
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  The Open Championship has been canceled for the first time since World War II due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  The 149th Open was scheduled to take place at Royal St George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, England, in July, but with the pandemic ripping the sporting schedule to shreds, the event has became the first of the sport’s four majors to be canceled this year.

  Golf’s oldest major is to be hosted at the same venue in the county of Kent in July next year.

  

  Ireland’s Shane Lowry poses with the claret jug after winning The Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland on July 21 last year.

  Photo: EPA-EFE

  “The Open was due to be played in Kent from 12-19 July but it has been necessary to cancel the championship based on guidance from the UK Government, the health authorities, public services and the R&A’s advisers,” organizer the R&A said in a statement on Monday.

  St Andrews is still to host the 150th Open, but a year later than scheduled in 2022.

  “Our absolute priority is to protect the health and safety of the fans, players, officials, volunteers and staff involved in the Open. We care deeply about this historic championship and have made this decision with a heavy heart,” R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said. “We have explored every option for playing The Open this year, but it is not going to be possible. We rely on the support of the emergency services, local authorities and a range of other organisations to stage the Championship and it would be unreasonable to place any additional demands on them when they have far more urgent priorities to deal with.”

  “We appreciate that this will be disappointing for a great many people around the world but we have to act responsibly during this pandemic and it is the right thing to do,” he said.

  The Open is the latest high-profile tournament to be axed because of the coronavirus outbreak.

  Wimbledon was canceled for the first time since World War II last week, while soccer’s Euro 2020 and the Olympics have been pushed back a year.

  Ireland’s Shane Lowry won last year’s Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.

  “Obviously I’m disappointed that I won’t get to defend the Open Championship this year but I feel the R&A have made the right decisions based on people’s health and safety. See you all in Royal St George’s in 2021,” Lowry wrote on Twitter.

  Royal St George’s has hosted The Open 14 times, most recently in 2011, when Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke won the event.

  The Open, which started in 1860, was also not held from 1915 to 1919 because of World War I.

  “Postponement or cancelations is something that we have become accustomed to until everyone is safe and safe to do our sport. It is a shame, but there are things bigger than golf at the moment,” England’s Danny Willett, who won the 2016 Masters, told the BBC.

  Both this year’s Masters and PGA Championship were postponed in March because of the pandemic, and were rescheduled after The Open postponement.

  The PGA Championship, which was initially due to be held next month, is now set to be staged from Aug. 6 to 9 at Harding Park in San Francisco.

  The US Open has been moved from June to Sept. 17 to 20, the week before the Ryder Cup clash between Europe and the US.

  The Masters, which usually takes place this month, is now slated to go ahead from Nov. 12 to 15 at Augusta National.
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