Coronavirus Update: San Francisco's PGA Championship Becomes Golf's First Major Tournament Of Year
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/AP) -- The current coronavirus outbreak has forced professional golf tour to flip the schedule of its major championships and cancel the famed British Open all together.
The PGA Championship, which had been scheduled to take place at San Francisco's Harding Park from May 14-17, will now take place on Aug. 6-9 if the coronvirus outbreak lessens over the next few months.
The U.S. Open, originally scheduled to be played at Winged Foot course in Mamaroneck, New York, from June 15-18 will reportedly now take place from Sept. 17-20.
The Masters, which was supposed to be played in its traditional spot as the sport's first major of the year this week, will now take place from Nov. 9-15 at Augusta National.
"We hope the anticipation of staging the Masters Tournament in the fall brings a moment of joy to the Augusta community and all those who love the sport," Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley said. "We want to emphasize that our future plans are incumbent upon favorable counsel and direction from health officials."
The famed Ryder Cup has also been rescheduled by the virus outbreak and will now be tentatively played Sept. 24-27 at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.
The R&A announced that the British Open, scheduled for July 16-19 at Royal St. George's in England, will be pushed back until July 15-18 in 2021, leaving the 150th Open for St. Andrews in 2022.
"I can assure everyone that we have explored every option for playing The Open this year, but it is not going to be possible," R&A chief Martin Slumbers said.
The U.S. Senior Open at Newport Country Club and the U.S. Senior Women's Open at Brooklawn Country Club in Connecticut have been canceled.
As for the regular Tour events that have been postponed since early March, the PGA Tour reportedly is eyeing a mid to late June restart for its weekly events.
"Throughout our evaluation process, we have been committed to following the guidance of public health authorities and given the coronavirus shelter-in-place order in effect in San Francisco, postponement is the best decision for all involved," said PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh at the time of the postponement announcement in March.
"We are also in dialogue with Mayor Breed and her team at the City of San Francisco and look forward to hopefully bringing the 2020 PGA Championship to TPC Harding Park at a date this summer when it is once again safe and responsible to do so."
