Coronavirus: R&A still to make decision on The Open as it considers postponement

The R&A has not yet either postponed or cancelled this year's Open Championship at Royal St George's

Martin Slumbers, the R&A chief executive, is expected to deliver an update on the 149th Open Championship at Royal St George's in the next day or so. Picture: Getty Images

A report by golfdigest.com overnight claimed the Claret Jug event was set to be cancelled, prompting a statement to be released by the St Andrews-based body.

In it, 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.”

Both The Masters and US PGA Championship have been postponed by Augusta National Golf Club and the PGA of America respectively due to the coronavirus.

It is hoped both those events might be played later in the year, with the USGA apparently having similar plans for the US Open once it confirms that will not be going ahead as planned in June.

In the report, golfdigest.com claimed that part of the reason the R&A was looking at a cancellation rather than postponement for The Open is to do with insurance.

“The R&A is the most [insured] of all the tournaments,” a source told golfdigest.com.

“They have complete cancellation insurance. I just don’t see any golf [being played] before August.”

Yesterday, the All England Club cancelled this year's Wimbledon tennis tournament.

Around the same time, the R&A cancelled the Curtis Cup, due to be held at Conwy in June, until 2021, as well as switching both the Amateur Championship and Women's Amateur Championship from June to August.

If cancelled, it would be the first year without an Open Championship since 1945 and also the first major to be cancelled since then.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Frank O'Donnell

Editorial Director