Coronavirus: Watson Cup and two big St Andrews events cancelled

A junior event bearing Tom Watson’s name and two top amateur tournaments in St Andrews are the latest to be added to a long list of cancellations due to coronavirus.

Tom Watson has agreed with the deicison to put the competition which bears his name on hold. Picture: Getty.

The Watson Cup, which involves the best young golfers in Edinburgh and East Lothian and their counterparts in South Carolina, had been scheduled to take place at Muirfield and Royal Burgess in July. However, committee members on both sides of the Atlantic have agreed that the contest should be put on hold.

All courses in Scotland are now closed, this week’s scheduled Links Golf Cup in East Lothian the first casualty of the current pandemic.

“These unforeseen circumstances in our world’s health certainly take precedence over the Watson Cup and I concur with this prudent decision,” said Watson, inset, in an email to David Warren, chairman of the 2020 organising committee. “It is my hope that it may be conducted next year in 2021 at Muirfield and Royal Burgess but, most importantly, that the world doesn’t suffer the dire projections of what this pandemic might cause.”

Warren said the decision had also been backed by Bernard Gallacher, president of the 2020 event, and DJ Russell, who was set to be the home team’s captain.

The match had been set to be part of another big year of top tournaments in East Lothian, with the centrepieces once again being the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Opens at The Renaissance Club.

Ticket and hospitality sales for the men’s event in July have currently been suspended by the European Tour.

The US Kids European Championships, due to be held at a number of East Lothian courses in May, normally attracts more than 600 kids and parents from all over the world.

East Lothian provost John McMillan said: “These will definitely be trying times for all businesses, and that includes our golf and golf-tourism industry.

“At the moment, we believe that the ASI Scottish and Ladies’ Opens will be going ahead in July and August and the US Kids tournament in late May but we don’t know exactly what form they will take and we will monitor this situation.

“In the meantime, East Lothian Council will continue to support our businesses as much as we can to help them bounce back once the current crisis has passed.”

Meanwhile, the St Andrews Links Trophy and St Rule Trophy have both been cancelled this year by the St Andrews Links Trust.

Director of golf John Grant said of the decision: “With both events attracting entrants from around the world we wanted to make a decision as early as possible. We look forward to the return of both the St Andrews Links Trophy and St Rule Trophy to St Andrews Links in 2021.”

The Eden and Strathtyrum tournaments “remain in the diary at present”.