September slot on cards after Scottish Open is postponed due to coronavirus
● French Open and BMW International both cancelled by European Tour
Organisers of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open are believed to be looking at a new September slot for the prestigious event.
It had been due to be held at The Renaissance Club in July but has been postponed due to the ongoing threat posed by the coronavirus.
The scheduled second staging of the $7 million Rolex Serieseventattheeastlothian venue has been put on hold by the European Tour as three moretournamentswereadded to a growing list of postponements and cancellations.
The decision was also made to cancel the BMW International Open in Germany and the French Open in the last week of June and first week of July respectively. The BMW International Open has been played every year since 1989, whilethefrenchopeniscontinental Europe’s oldest national Open. It has been cancelled following the French government’s decision to cancel all mass public gatherings and events until mid-july.
It is hoped that the Scottish Open, won by Austrian Bernd Wiesberger in a play-off on the East Lothian coast last July, can be rescheduled for later in the year along with events that had already been postponed, including the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Mount Juliet.
Keith Pelley, European Tour chief executive, said: “Public
Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger with the trophy after winning the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open trophy last July.
health and well-being is the absolute priority. Germany and France have been significantly impacted by Coronavirus, and our thoughts go out to everyone affected in both countries, as well as around the world. In consultation with Aberdeen Standardinvestments,visitscotland and Rolex, we have also decided to postpone the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, which is part of our prestigious Rolex Series.
“Discussions about the possibility of rescheduling this event will continue as we look at a variety of different scenarios for our schedule for when it is safe and permitted to resume playing. We will only announce details of these plans when we have clarity on the global situation.”
The call was welcomed by Martin Gilbert, who has been the driving force behind the Scottish Open since Aberdeen Standard Investments
took over the title sponsorship in 2012. “A sensible decision given the circumstances and, as much as we all love golf, health and safety must be the number one priority. Fingers crossed a new date can be found,” he said.
Host venue CEO Jerry Sarvadi added: “In these truly unusual and very difficult times, The Renaissance Club completely agrees and supports the European Tour’s decision to postpone this year’s Scottish Open. The health and safety our all involved is our primary concern. We are working closely with the European Tour to hopefully find dates in the future that will allow the tournament to be rescheduled, if at all possible.”
understands
the first week in September is the slot that has been set aside in a revised schedule. That would mean the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open being held ahead of the men’s equivalent, with the LET/ LPGA tournament set for 13-16 August at The Renaissance Club.
The announcements mean that the European Tour schedule has been wiped out until the end of July, with the next event on the calendar due to be the British Masters at Close House, near Newcastle. A gap had already been left in the summer schedule by the R&A’S decision to cancel the 149th Open Championship, set to be held at Royal St George’s in July.
“Discussions about the possibility of rescheduling this event will continue as we look at a variety of different scenarios for our schedule”
KEITH PELLEY