Good news for Scottish golfers such as Marc Warren, Grant Forrest, Conor Syme and Callum Hill with the European Tour to follow in the footsteps of the PGA Tour and afford all 2020 Tour qualifers with full 2021 membership.
That is to be the decision in a leaked European Tour email sent to all members.
The PGA Tour recently advised that those who obtained full 2020 Tour membership would retain their Tour status for 2021 given the cancellation of so many events this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The European Tour it would seem is to follow suit.
And the stipulation of having to play a minimum number of events will also be waived given the expectation of ongoing international travel restrictions.
It means that Warren and currently ranked 210th on the Race to Dubai, Forrest (44th), Syme (61st) and Hill (110th) can return to the Tour, and whenever that may be, without the pressure of fighting to retain their Tour card.
Also, the return of European Tour ‘Race to Dubai’ 2020 schedule looks likely to include four events in succession with three to be hosted in England and one in Wales and each boasting multi-room on-course hotels.
The Tour, and according to the Golf Channel, seems ready to soon announce a ‘bubble’ with four events to be hosted on UK courses boasting multi-room on-course hotels to accommodate all those teeing-up.
The events, including three new touranments, but boasting just Euro 1m in prizemoney, will include:
- July 30th to August 2nd Lee Westwood hosted BedFred British Masters at Close House on the outskirts of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- The Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel and Country Club located between Birmingham and Coventry
- Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel and Country Club at Ware in England and
- Celtic Manor in Wales and venue for the 2010 Ryder Cup.
All four events will have to be scheduled in a way to include two major back-to-back events in the U.S. – the July 30th to August 2nd WGC – FedEx St. Jude Invitatonal in Memphis and the following week’s August 6th to 9th PGA Championship in San Francisco.
The European Tour has also issued a similar ‘Health and Safety’ report to all European, Challenge and Staysafe Senior Tour members out-lining the strictest of strick testing guidelines to be in place when golf does resume.
The PGA Tour released a similar 37-page document to all their members but then the sight of both Dustin Johnson and Matthew Wolff spitting often into a cloth to wipe their golf clubs and with Rickie Fowler continually wiping his face with his shirt during last Sunday’s Seminole event was not the ‘stay safe’ image the PGA Tour sought.
