British Open championship cancelled

LONDON —This year's 149th Open Championship scheduled to be held at Royal St. George's has been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, the R&A announced on Monday.

A statement said the decision to scrap the 2020 tournament, scheduled for July 16-19 in Kent on England's south-east coast, had been made with a "heavy heart" but was the only option.

It will be the first time the Open, the oldest of golf's four majors, has not been held since 1945.

The Open was last held on the Royal St. George's course in 2011 when Northern Irishman Darren Clarke claimed victory.

"We appreciate that this will be disappointing for a great many people around the world but this pandemic is severely affecting the UK and we have to act responsibly," Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said in a statement.

"I can assure everyone that we have explored every option for playing The Open this year but it is not going to be possible."

The one silver lining for Royal St. George's is that it will host the tournament next year instead. The 2021 event, which would have been the 150th, was to be held at

St. Andrews. It will now return to the home of golf in 2022.

The Open is the only one of this year's four majors to be cancelled because of the global health emergency.

This month's Masters and PGA Championship have been postponed until Nov. 9-15 and Aug. 3-9, respectively.

The U.S. Open at Winged Foot, New York was postponed on Monday, with a September date slated, the same month as the Ryder Cup

Shane Lowry of Ireland would have been hoping to retain the trophy at Royal St. George's.

"Obviously I'm disappointed that I won't get to defend my title but people's health and safety come before any golf tournament," he said in a video posted on Twitter.

"I'm sure the R&A have thought long and hard about this. You can guarantee the Claret Jug is in safe hands for another year and I look forward to seeing you all in 2021."