Golf: New European Tour calendar a ‘glimpse into the future’

EUROPEAN Tour chief executive Keith Pelley says the new look calendar for the 2020 season could give a “glimpse into the future”.

The Tour will resume on July 22 with a run of six tournaments over six weeks in the UK, having been suspended since March 8 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But a return date has now been set, with the Betfred British Masters at Close House near Newcastle the opening tournament in July before a revived English Open at Forest of Arden, the English Championship at

Hanbury Manor, back-to-back tournaments at Celtic Manor - the Celtic Classic and the Wales Open - and the UK Championship at the Belfry.

The season will run through until December, with all tournaments played behind closed doors and subject to strict safety and testing protocols. A lifting of the Government’s two-week quarantine when arriving in the country will also be required.

Four Rolex Series events have also been announced, with the Scottish Open and PGA Championship in back-to-back weeks in October, while the Nedbank Golf Challenge and the World Tour Championship will take place in December.

Pelley said: “When we started to look at this schedule and we started to completely rehaul our strategy for this year, we have now... you know, when you see the 2020 schedule, it’s completely different than 2019.

“And 2021, a lot of the tournaments that have cancelled for this year will come back for next year. However, I honestly believe that you are seeing a little bit of a glimpse into the future.

“All of these venues are incredibly excited about this year, and two of them have already said, ‘Can we get on the schedule for 2021’ and I look at that as an incredible positive.”

The European Tour has been hit hard financially by the pandemic, but Pelley says his organisation can cope.

“Of course, we’ve been affected but we’ve worked hard and been extremely responsible in our financial approach to this global crisis. It’s allowed us to navigate through this initial phase of the crisis.”