The latest sporting event to be cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak is the 149th Open Championship.
The tournament was due to take place in July at the Royal St George’s Golf Club in Kent but has been postponed until next year.
In a statement on the R&A website, Chief Executive Martin Slumbers said: “We have explored every option for playing the Open Championship this year but it is not going to be possible.”
He went on to add that they “care deeply about this historic Championship” and that it was difficult to make the decision.
He said: “We appreciate that this will be disappointing for a great many people around the world but we have to act responsibly during this pandemic and it is the right thing to do.
“We rely on the support of the emergency services, local authorities and a range of other organisations to stage the Championship and it would be unreasonable to place any additional demands on them when they have far more urgent priorities to deal with.”
This is the first time the tournament has been cancelled since the Second World War.
The organisation has confirmed the tournament will be played from 11-18 July next year at the same venue.
This means the 150th Open tournament can still be played at St Andrews in Scotland as originally planned.
The Open is the only one of the four men’s gold majors to be cancelled in 2020.
In March, the PGA Championship and the Masters were postponed with the US Golf Association (USGA) announcing new dates today.
The PGA Championship is set to take place from August 6 to 9 while the Masters is going to take place from November 12 to 15.
The US Open has also been postponed today – originally set for July it has now been moved to September 17-20.
All tickets bought for the event will be transferred to next year’s event unless you’re no longer able to attend in which case the ticket will be fully refunded.
The Open started in 1860 and has been hosted by the Royal St George 14 times, most recently in 2011 when Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke won the even for the first time.
The Open Championship has now been cancelled for four reasons –
The Claret Jug, the current prize for the champion golfer of the year, was introduced in 1872.
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