Faint hope majors and Ryder Cup could be salvaged
Of all the major sports impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic, professional golf appears to be the only one with a realistic hope of salvaging a “normal” season — at least for the time being.
While the United States now has the most coronavirus cases in the world, the PGA remains poised to resume regular play on short notice, even though it means figuring out how to schedule its four majors, the PGA Tour Playoffs and the Ryder Cup in an abbreviated season.
The tour has canceled all events until late May, but only the Masters and the PGA Championship have officially announced postponements. The US Open, scheduled for Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, New York, starting on June 18, is also expected to be postponed, as that state bears the brunt of American coronavirus cases.
In the UK, the British Open is still scheduled for July 16 in Sandwich, Kent, but on April 2 Royal & Ancient chief executive Martin Slumbers issued a statement saying that the organization was still deciding the fate of the tournament.
“We are continuing to work through our options for The Open this year, including postponement,” said Slumbers.
“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 we 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.”
The last time the British Open was canceled was 1945, due to World War II.
As for the Ryder Cup, the PGA stated last week that previous reports of its cancellation were inaccurate, but sources from both the PGA of America and its broadcast partners have indicated the competition will likely be postponed.
“We are proceeding on the assumption it will happen while understanding it may not,” a source told The event is scheduled for Sept 25-27 at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. Should it be postponed, it would likely move to 2021.
“No one involved wants to punt on the Ryder Cup, least of all us,” a TV source told “But playing the majors higher importance.”
A big factor in the PGA’s efforts to salvage the season is television rights. All of golf’s major broadcast partners have obligations with other sports that draw much larger viewership, including the NFL and Major League Baseball.
The next scheduled event on the golf calendar is the PGA’s Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial in Texas, set to begin May 21.
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American media outlets reported last week that Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are set to square off in a sequel to their much-hyped 2018 head-to-head showdown, which saw Mickelson pocket $9 million for his victory.
The rematch will reportedly be for charitable relief for COVID-19 efforts and could include two other famous names: Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and retired NFL legend Peyton Manning, who would pair off with Woods and Mickelson in an as yet undetermined format.
There has been no official confirmation yet, and while the PGA Tour acknowledged to Yahoo! Sports that “discussions along these lines have been ongoing for quite some time,” nothing has been approved by the tour.
“It would have to be sanctioned by the tour in order to take place,” the PGA Tour told Yahoo! Sports.