Hong Kong Open gets new date – but European Tour steer clear
The 2019 Hong Kong Open will now be played in January.
The event was originally meant to take place last month but was postponed due to ongoing social unrest in the region, where clashes between police and protesters had become increasingly more violent.
It will be held at Hong Kong Golf Club from January 9-12, 2020, but the European Tour will not sanction the event due to its commitment to the South African Open in the same week.
“We very much look forward to returning next November when the 62nd Hong Kong Open will kick off our 2021 European Tour season,” European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley said in a statement.
The event will instead be sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Hong Kong Golf Association.
“The 61st Hong Kong Open will now be the curtain raiser for our 2020 season,” Cho Minn Thant, the chief executive of the Asian Tour, said.
Along with golf’s Hong Kong Open, several other sporting events, including the tennis and squash championships of the same name, were cancelled due to the problems in the area.
Alex Perry
Alex has been the editor of National Club Golfer since 2017. A Devonian who enjoys wittering on about his south west roots, Alex moved north to join NCG after more than a decade in London, the last five of which were with ESPN. Away from golf, Alex follows Torquay United and spends too much time playing his PlayStation or his guitar and not enough time practising his short game.
