The European Tour will not be allowed resume until July 30 at the earliest.
They’ve today postponed the Scottish Open, which was due to start on July 9 and cancelled the upcoming BMW International in Germany (June 25-28) and Open de France (July 2-5).
July's Open Championship had already been cancelled for the first time since World War II.
The next tournament left standing is the British Masters at Close House in Newcastle, but chief executive Keith Pelley says they can’t commit to a re-start date until it’s fully safe to do so.
On Thursday America’s PGA Tour resolved to resume behind closed doors with the Charles Schwab Classic in Texas on June 11.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgNfV3umbok
Pelley had the following message for European Tour fans:
As I wrote in my previous message to you, as important as golf is to all of us, public health and well-being continues to be our absolute priority.
That is why today we have announced the cancellation of the BMW International Open and the Open de France, as well as the postponement of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open.
These are three of our most prestigious events, but it is essential that we continue to follow the guidance of the individual national Governments as we stand united in our efforts to stop the spread of Coronavirus.
While today I am informing you about the change in status of these three tournaments, my primary message to you, as a valued fan of the European Tour, is actually one of optimism because I am genuinely hopeful that from now on the information I send you in relation to our 2020 schedule will be positive.
We cannot emphatically commit to a start date because, as I have said many times, we will not resume until it is safe, and we are permitted to do so. We now have 14 weeks with no tournaments, but those three and a half months are also the time where the global situation may well begin to show signs of improvement. There are already discussions centering around the easing of restrictions in several countries and everyone is optimistic that these can continue.
This window also gives us the opportunity to continue working behind the scenes on a variety of scheduling options which would allow us to provide you with a busy calendar of golf to enjoy when we do resume.
For now, on behalf of our players, staff, partners and everyone at the European Tour, I would like to say a huge thank you to all the health professionals and frontline workers around the world. We are all indebted to the incredible work you are all doing and, as some of our players said in a special video recently, you are our true heroes.
Until we talk again, please stay safe, stay healthy and stay indoors wherever possible.
Cheers,
Keith
