French Open to fall; PGA Championship won’t be played in May
The French Open was postponed for about four months because of the coronavirus pandemic, shifting from May to September and juggling the tennis calendar.
The French tennis federation said Tuesday it will hold its 15-day clay-court event at Roland Garros in Paris from Sept. 20 to Oct. 4, instead of May 24 to June 7, “to ensure the health and safety of everyone involved in organizing the tournament.”
In the press release announcing the decision, federation President Bernard Giudicelli described it as “a difficult yet brave decision in this unprecedented situation.” Later, in a conference call with reporters, Giudicelli acknowledged the other Grand Slam tournaments and the men’s and women’s professional tours were informed of the change — but not consulted.
“It’s unthinkable for us to remove Roland Garros from the calendar. The only thing we had in mind is the interests of the tournament, of the players,” Giudicelli said. “We looked at the fortnight that was least damaging for the other (tournaments).”
The French Open’s new dates place it right after the hard-court U.S. Open is currently scheduled to be held in New York, from Aug. 31 to Sept. 13. Having just one week between two major championships, played on different surfaces, would be unusually short.
This is the first instance of a Grand Slam tournament being affected by the virus that has spread around the world. The next major tennis championship on the calendar is Wimbledon, which is to start in late June in England.
After the French Open’s postponement was announced, Richard Lewis, the chief executive of the All England Club, which runs Wimbledon, said his group was continuing to plan for that tournament “at this time.”
He added: “It remains a continuously evolving situation and we will act responsibly, in the best interests of wider society.”
PGA Championship pushed back: First the Masters, now the PGA Championship.
The PGA Championship is being postponed.
It was scheduled for May
Harding Park in San Francisco.
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It follows the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation that events of 50 people or more not be held for eight weeks. That would last until the Sunday before the PGA Championship.
San Francisco now is among six counties in the Bay Area where residents are ordered to venture outside only when necessary for the next three weeks.
There was no indication when the PGA Championship would be played, or if it would remain in San Francisco.
Augusta National announced Friday that the Masters would be postponed. The club typically closes in mid-May for the summer.
The USGA announced that it canceled the first two amateur championships on its 2020 schedule.
The U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball was scheduled for April 25-29 at Quail Creek in Naples, Florida.
The U.S. Amateur Four-Ball was scheduled for May 23-27 at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. Neither will be played this year.
Now, it’s Euro 2021: The governing body of European soccer postponed its marquee championship for one year.
Euro 2020 became Euro 2021 in a major shift for an international soccer calendar that is on lockdown because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The tournament that was due to open on June 12 in Rome is now scheduled for next year from June 11 to July 11, in the same 12 host nations.