R&A ‘proceeding as planned’ with the Open and Women’s British Open

The R&A say there are currently no plans to move the Open from its July 16-19 slot, or the Women’s British Open a month later, though they are “considering other contingency options available”.

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In a statement regarding the coronavirus pandemic, the governing body said: “Looking to our professional events this summer, we are undertaking a comprehensive evaluation of our plans to stage the 149th Open at Royal St George’s and the AIG Women’s British Open at Royal Troon, which are four and five months away respectively.

“This includes examining a range of scenarios for staging the championships, with our focus on proceeding as planned, as well as considering other contingency options available to us.”

Martin Slumbers, the chief executive of the R&A, added: “Our absolute priority is to ensure the safety of players, fans, officials, staff and all involved in our championships and that will be at the forefront of our thinking as we monitor developments.

“We have some time before we start building the infrastructure at both venues and so we are keeping the scheduled dates in place for the Open and AIG Women’s British Open at this point.

“We recognise that this is a rapidly changing situation and we will keep everyone informed of any changes to our plans. These are difficult times but we are bearing in mind our responsibility for what’s right for golf and most importantly for society.”

While those two tournaments may yet go ahead, depending on the global Covid-19 situation, two of the R&A’s early season international amateur events – the Student Tour Series Final at St Andrews and Carnoustie and the Girls’ U16 Amateur Championship at Fulford – have been cancelled. Both were due to be staged in April.

“We have contacted all those involved,” added the statement. “We will keep the status of the rest of the amateur championship season under review.”