Golf-2020 Open Championship cancelled due to coronavirus

This year's 149th Open Championship due to be held at Royal St George's has been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, the R&A announced on Monday.

A statement said the decision to scrap the 2020 tournament, scheduled for July 16-19 in Kent on England's south-east coast, had been made with a "heavy heart" but was the only option.

It will be the first time the Open, the oldest of golf's four majors, has not been held since 1945.

LOWRY DISAPPOINTED

Shane Lowry of Ireland would have been hoping to retain the trophy at Royal St George's.

"Obviously I'm disappointed that I won't get to defend my title but people's health and safety come before any golf tournament," he said in a video posted on Twitter.

"I'm sure the R&A have thought long and hard about this. You can guarantee the Claret Jug is in safe hands for another year and I look forward to seeing you all in 2021."

Preparations for staging the Open involve a huge logistical operation and the "build" would have begun soon in Sandwich on the Kent coast. Slumbers said it would have been unreasonable to put any extra pressure on the local authorities.

"We rely on the support of the emergency services, local authorities and a range of other organisations to stage the Championship and it would be unreasonable to place any additional demands on them when they have far more urgent priorities to deal with," he said.

The R&A said tickets and hospitality packages purchased for the 2020 championship would transfer to 2021 with full refunds for those who cannot attend next year.

Apart from stoppages due to World Wars, the only other time the Open has been cancelled was in 1871 because there was no trophy -- Tom Morris Jr having been allowed to keep the Challenge Belt for winning the tournament three times in a row.

The British sporting calendar, like that across the world, has been decimated because of the coronavirus pandemic that by Sunday had claimed just under 5,000 lives in the UK.

Last week the Wimbledon tennis championships were also cancelled for the first time since World War Two, while the soccer, rugby and cricket seasons are all suspended.