European Tour to resume with British Masters on July 22

More than four months after it was halted due to the coronavirus, the 2020 European Tour season will resume in late July.

Published : May 28, 2020 20:35 IST

Lee Westwood will host the British Masters, which will mark the European Tour's return to action
Lee Westwood will host the British Masters, which will mark the European Tour's return to action
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Lee Westwood will host the British Masters, which will mark the European Tour's return to action

The European Tour will return behind closed doors with the British Masters from Wednesday July 22 and a revised season schedule will run until December.

Action has been suspended since March 8 due to the coronavirus crisis but the British Masters at Close House, hosted by Lee Westwood, will now mark the return of competitive play.

Organisers have confirmed the 2020 campaign will get back under way with six consecutive events held in the United Kingdom, initially without spectators.

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A UK swing will include the British Masters, English Open, English Championship, Celtic Classic, Wales Open and UK Championship.

The Celtic Classic and Wales Open will both be played at The Celtic Manor Resort in Newport.

A run of UK events was chosen because "playing in clusters, in one territory, is the best option in terms of testing, travel and accommodation", according to European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley.

Schedules for some events are yet to be finalised but there are expected to be 24 tournaments between July and December.

The DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, will conclude the season a month later than initially planned, with that event now running from December 10-13 as a Race to Dubai champion is crowned.

That will be the last of four Rolex Series events confirmed on the calendar, with the Scottish Open and BMW PGA Championship scheduled for October, with the Nedbank Golf Challenge on December 3.

The European Tour also announced the ‘Golf for Good’ initiative to support local charities.

"All tournaments will be subject to stringent safety and testing protocols," read Thursday's announcement from the Tour.

"The 'Golf for Good' initiative will be launched at the new 'UK Swing' in July and August. It will culminate in £500,000 being distributed equally between charities local to tournament venues and charities chosen by the leading 10 players in a mini Order of Merit run across the six tournaments."

Pelley added: "Since the suspension of our season, we have taken a measured approach in reassessing our schedule, informed every step of the way by our medical advisers and government guidance.

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"We have consistently said that safety is our absolute priority and that is why we are announcing our resumption in two months' time supported by a comprehensive health strategy.

"Without question we have had to think differently about the remainder of our 2020 season which is reflected in the announcement.

"As golf's global Tour, diversity is ordinarily one of our biggest strengths, but in this instance it has become one of our biggest challenges."

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