Now Links and St Rule trophies are cancelled

Big two amateur events at St Andrews added to casualty list

The St Andrews Links and St Rule trophies, two of Europe’s most prestigious annual amateur golf tournaments, have been cancelled for 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The St Andrews Links Trust yesterday took the decision not to play the events after discussions with both organising committees.

The women’s St Rule Trophy was scheduled for May 30 and 31 while the men’s Links Trophy was set for a week later, on June 5-7.

Both events annually attract the elite of amateur golf from Europe and beyond and are primarily played over the historic Old Course.

The Links Trust stressed it did not take the decision on the basis that it expected the courses at St Andrews to still be closed to the public at the scheduled date of the competitions.

The entire Links Trust complex – the largest in Scotland encompassing the Old, New, Jubilee, Castle, Eden, Strathtyrum and Balgove courses as well as administrative operations and the Golf Academy – was closed after the announcement of the lockdown on Monday.

They will continue to monitor government and health and safety advice on the reopening of the links while staying in contact with season-ticket holders and prospective visitors.

St Andrews Links Trust director of golf John Grant said the trust’s number one priority is the health and wellbeing of teams, entrants and their families.

He said: “Following the closure of all our facilities and with many countries and regions recommending selfquarantine and continued restrictions on travel, we felt that it was not practical or appropriate to stage this year’s tournaments.

“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 organising committees are committed to refunding all entry payments within 10 to 14 days. Entrants do not need to contact the tournament team in order to request a refund as these will be processed automatically via the original payment method.

At present the Links Trust’s annual fortnight of competition in August for amateurs of all ages and abilities, featuring the popular Eden and Strathtyrum tournaments, are still in the diary but are subject to continued monitoring and review.