The R&A has issued a statement on its tournament schedule going forward in light of the constantly-moving situation in the COVID-19 pandemic.
It has announced the cancellation of two international amateur events – The R&A Student Tour Series Final at St Andrews and Carnoustie and The R&A Girls’ U16 Amateur Championship at Fulford, which were both due to take place next month.
The status of the rest of the amateur championship season remains under review.
The statement confirmed that the R&A is undertaking ‘a comprehensive evaluation’ of 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.
Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said: “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.”