The Open Championship remains on even slimmer tenterhooks with reports, and not official, the U.S. Open has become the third of the four men’s Majors’ to be postponed.
The U.S. Open is set to be third of the four men’s Majors to be postponed given the New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo’s ‘executive order’ last week halting all non-essential businesses in response to the Coronavirus pandemic.
New York has been one of the hardest hit of all American States by the Coronavirus and with the U. S. sadly now leading the world in confirmed cases.
The U.S. Open is due to be staged from June 18th to 21st on the famed Winged Foot course on New York’s Long Island.
Unconfirmed reports the 2020 U. S. Open is set to be postponed.
It wil be the first occasion the U.S. Open is returning to Winged Foot since 2006 when Scot Colin Montgomerie was lying in the middle of the 72nd fairway and needing a par to capture a first Major.
After waiting ‘ages’ for playing partner Vijay Singh to get a ruling after a wild drive left, Monty chose to change his club choice but ended-up horribly short of the green in rough and then walked off with a double-bogey to share second with Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk, and all three a shot back of Aussie Geoff Ogilvy.
The Winged Foot club has been closed since Governor Cuomo’s ‘order’ meaning work on erecting grandstands, corporate enclosure’s and spectator facilities for the U.S. Open has stopped.
The New York Post reported the U.S. Open has already been postponed but this is not the word from the New Jersey-based United States Golf Association (USGA).
The USGA’s Senior Director of Championships Communications, Beth Major said: “Nothing is official at this point.
“Obviously, we’re talking about it (postponing), knowing what’s going on in New York right now.”
The R & A has cancelled their annual ‘Media Facilitation Day’ set down for Tuesday 21st April at Royal St. George’s and host for the 149th Open and were again in a crisis meeting early last week with those at the Kent club.
And with some 2,000 containers full of equipment stacked in Dubai and soon to be shipped to England, the R & A is desperately hoping their ‘plans to go ahead as schedule’ come to fruition.
Of course, there is this issue of next year being the 150th Open Championship anniversary at St. Andrews and with extensive plans and preparations in place, so the last the R & A want is having to postpone the 149th Open to 2021.
With the 2020 Summer Olympics now postponed to 2021 and increasing calls for the 2020 Ryder Cup to also move back to 2021, here’s a look at a possible revised Majors schedule, if fears for the virus ease.
July 16 – 19 149th Open Championship, Royal St. George’s (As planned)
July 30 – Aug 2 PGA Championship, TPC Harding Park, San Francisco
Sept 10 – 13 US Open, Winged Foot, New York
Oct 8 – 11 Masters, Augusta National, Georgia
