‘Your guess is as good as ours’ – but Close House still planning British Masters in July

Planning continues for July’s British Masters at Close House – but the man at the helm of the Newcastle club said they were “prepared for all scenarios”.

Managing director Jonathan Lupton said club officials held a conference call with the European Tour earlier this week where “we were talking more about the event happening than it not”.

The tournament, which is set to be hosted by Lee Westwood for the second time, is currently scheduled for July 29-August 2.

The North East venue staged a hugely successful event three years ago – with Paul Dunne shooting a course-record 61 on the final day to hold off a surging Rory McIlroy.

But with golf all over the world on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, and the current European Tour schedule already either cancelled or postponed through until mid-June, whether it will go ahead is clearly up in the air.

Asked about the prospects for the British Masters, Lupton said: “We are in constant dialogue with the European Tour. Ultimately it is going to be their decision.

“At the moment, I think your guess is as good as mine in terms of when the lockdown ends. They (European Tour) have recently cancelled events in June. So it’s getting closer.

“At the minute, we’re still planning and I had a conference call with the European Tour and we were talking more about the event happening than it not. We are prepared for all scenarios.”

Earlier this week, as the rescheduled major programme was published and the PGA Tour put together a late summer calendar, European Tour chiefs said: “Due to the many complexities involved, the European Tour is currently working through various scenarios in relation to the rescheduling of our tournaments for the 2020 season.

“The European Tour will make further announcements on these in due course.”

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Should the British Masters go ahead, subject to the ongoing situation with the pandemic and assurances on the safety of players and spectators, it would be a mouth-watering fillip given the way the sporting calendar has been culled over the past few months.

As long as those conditions were met, Lupton agreed the chance to be one of the first tournaments staged in the virus’s wake would be “amazing”.

“There’s been a shortage not only of golf but sport on TV and I think every golfer, while reminiscing and watching old replays on Sky Sports, really want the guys they know and admire playing,” he said.

“It would be amazing if we were one of the first events on the calendar. It’s looking, if we do go ahead, that we would be one of the very first events, which is a fantastic opportunity.”

Would you attend the British Masters if conditions were safe to do so? Are you looking forward to seeing the return of live golf? Have your say in the comments or tweet me.

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