The British Open Has Been Officially Canceled

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There is some breaking news in the world of golf. Every year golf has four majors and one of them will not happen in 2020. It was announced on Monday that the Open Championship, or British Open, will not happen. It was scheduled for July 16-19 at Royal St. George in England. This, of course, is all due to the coronavirus. The other three majors will all happen later in the year. The Masters, US Open and PGA Championship have all been rescheduled. The Ryder Cup, which is an every other year tournament, is still on for its original date. If you don’t know what the Ryder Cup is, it is the tournament where 12 players from the USA take on the players from the United Kingdom. Any players that are from outside of the United Kingdom are not allowed to play in the Ryder Cup.

Now, of course, this was the decision of the R&A which is the governing body of all the tournaments that take place in the United Kingdom. This decision is to keep the safety of the players and patrons. This is the first time the British Open has been canceled since 1945 because of World War II. This is how serious the situation is now. In most sports, we don’t know if the season will be complete or be delayed. This will now leave golf with only three major championships. As an avid golf fan myself, one of the many reasons we like to watch the majors is that we all dream that we might be able to play the courses someday. We also watch because it seems to be, at times, the players are playing at their highest level.

Every player that plays the game of golf wants to win a major championship. It is great to have on a player’s resume. Some players like Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Phil Mickelson have more than one. There are players that only have one or none. The British Open is the only major that isn’t played on US soil. It shows the world that doesn’t live in the part of the world what golf courses look like there. The courses are very different. Those courses have deep bunkers and rough. On top of that, the weather plays a factor with the wind being a heavy factor. The game was invented in that part of the world. Many players adapt very well, others struggle with those courses. This would be the 145th Open Championship and it the oldest major of the four.

The fans that tune in for that major will now have to wait till 2021. The British Open will still be on the same course. Golf fans will have to wait and hope the other three aren’t canceled due to the virus. What I have been seeing and reading in other parts of the world that have also been hit hard by the virus is it is starting to plateau and we will get back to normal life soon. I will be looking forward to the other three majors and the Ryder Cup in 2020.