Coming to a golf course near you – the European Tour?
There is every possibility the suspension of all tournament golf during the coronavirus pandemic could mean an autumn of European Tour events in the UK.
That was the message from the Tour’s chief executive Keith Pelley, who said in an email to players that things will look “radically different” when golf returns and “the financial reality is that our UK events, in addition to our Rolex Series tournaments, are the most critical ones to try and stage to meet demands of our broadcast contracts, particularly from our primary broadcaster, Sky Sports.”
If we look at the European Tour schedule before any postponements or cancellations there were four events scheduled in the UK – the three week run in July that included the Scottish Open at Renaissance and British Masters at Close house either side of the 149th Open at Royal St George’s, as well as the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in September and the Dunhill Links Championship, which is played across St Andrews’ Old Course, Carnoustie, and Kingsbarns, a couple of weeks later.
The Open has already been postponed until next year, but the European Tour is yet to make an announcement on any tournament after the Scandinavian Mixed, which was due to start on June 11.
“Let us say we are given the go-ahead by Governments and health authorities to resume play in the first week of September,” Pelley added. “That gives us 16 weeks between then and Christmas to try and play as many tournaments as possible.”
Realistically, how many events could be held in the UK between September and December? And which clubs are in a position to actually hold an event at such short notice? NCG’s Alex Perry and Steve Carroll discuss in this week’s NCG Podcast…
The NCG Podcast: An autumn of European Tour events in the UK?
Are you excited about the possibility of several golf tournaments in the UK before Christmas? Let us know in the comments below.
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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.
