Catriona Matthew will be 'amazed' if all majors are played this year

Catriona Matthew, Europe's Solheim Cup captain, has said she will be "amazed" if all the majors were played this year as speculation increases that The Open will join a long list of postponements due to the coronavirus crisis.

Catriona Matthew was speaking in her role as an Aberdeen Standard Investments ambassador. Picture: Aberdeen Standard Investments

In the men's game, The Masters and US PGA Championship have already been postponed by Augusta National Golf Club and the PGA of America respectively, with the plan to reschedule both those events for later in the year.

The USGA is expected to make an announcement soon on the staging of the US Open, scheduled for Winged Foot in June, with the R&A admitting that postponement is an "option" being considered for The Open, which is due to be held at Royal St George's in July.

In an update on the game's oldest major, R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said: “We are continuing to work through our options for The Open this year, including postponement. Due to a range of external factors, that process is taking some time to resolve.

"We are well aware of the importance of being able to give clear guidance to fans, players and everyone involved and are working to resolve this as soon as we can. We will give a further update as soon as we are in a position to do so and thank everyone for their support and understanding in this challenging situation.”

In the women's game, the ANA Inspiration, which was scheduled to take place this week in California, has already been switched to a September slot, with the US Women's Open in early June coming under increasing threat.

"God, it’s a tricky one," admitted Matthew, speaking on a teleconference in her role as an Aberdeen Standard Investments ambassador, in reply to being asked if it will be possible to cram as many majors as possible into what might be left of the season.

"Probably, yes, you’d want the majors played. But, then, do you want them played four weeks in a row? Obviously it depends where they’re being played, as well, when it comes to if you can even play them later in the year.

"I think if you just get one or two majors in, maybe that’s enough – I don’t know. A lot can depend on where they are in the country they’re being played in – and obviously just getting all the players in.

"The majors have huge fields, players from all over the world, so that’s another issue. There’s obviously a lot to think about and, I’m glad I don’t have to make all these decisions. Personally, I would be amazed if all the majors are played this year."

In his statement, Slumbers made no reference to a claim in a story published by golfdigest.com about the possibility of the R&A cancelling The Open. The last time it wasn't held was in 1945.

As things stand, Matthew is due to lead Europe into battle in a Solheim Cup defence at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, next September. She reckons that could change, though, if this year's Ryder Cup has to be pushed back by 12 months.

“I don’t make the decisions, but it would not surprise me that, if the Ryder Cup moved, they would look at moving the Solheim to the next year," she said. "They were played in the same year in 2002 and then switched to opposite years, but the Solheim is now a bigger event.

“It (moving next year's Solheim Cup) is certainly something that I think would be spoken about rather than have them both in the same year."

"The qualification process would be easier for the players again as they would have this year as a void and start again from next year. This is certainly a tricky year and the main focus is just trying to get things back to normal for the whole world, really.”

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