No sooner had the PGA of America announce the postponment of the PGA Championship to join the Masters in being postponed due to fears over the Coronavirus pandemic and the PGA Tour followed 30-minutes later to advise the cancellation of a further four regular season events.
The year’s second Major was due to be staged from Mary 14-17 on the TPC Harding course in San Francisco.
And in the statement released by the PGA of America it is revealed they have been liaising with the PGA Tour for an alternate venue and that could very well be TPC Sawgrass and host to last week’s cancelled Players Championship.
“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.
“This is a reflection of a thoughtful process,” Waugh added. “We are and have been working in concert with Commissioner Jay Monahan and our partners and friends at the PGA TOUR to find an alternative date that works for all. We are all very hopeful for a great outcome.
“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.”
News of the postponed of now two of the four majors comes less than a week after the Masters announcement it was postponing next month of the staging of the 84th Masters.
Current World No. 3 Brooks Koepka is the defending PGA Champion.
And within 30-minutes of the PGA of America’s statement and the PGA Tour announced the cancellation of four further events on the 2019/20 wraparound schedule.
One the recommendations from the Centres for Disease Control, the World Health Organization and the Office of the President of the United States, the Tour has now cancelled the RBC Heritage (April 13-19); Zurich Classic of New Orleans (April 20-26); Wells Fargo Championship (April 27-May 3); and AT&T Byron Nelson (May 4-10).
This brings to eight events the Tour has now cancelled and with June’s US Open at Winged Foot now in strong doubt.
Looking back, it was the MENA Tour in the first few days of March in leading the way and showing forsight by announcing the cancellation of the remainder of the 2020 season, and with five of the six events to have been played in the UAE.
The European Tour followed a week later in advising the postponment of the Kenya Magic Open and that has now led postponing the Hero Indian Open, the Maybank Championship in Malaysia, the Volvo China Open and the Valderrama Masters.
It then took enorous ‘outside’ pressure for the PGA Tour to finally react in cancelling the Players Championship and the first now eight events.
