R&A still planning for July Open

The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (the R&A) have reiterated that they are still planning for this year’s Open Championship to take place in July.

Like the rest of the sporting world, golf has been severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, with the opening two majors of the year, the Masters and the PGA Championship having been postponed, while both the PGA and European Tours have been placed on hiatus until the middle of May at the earliest. Get advice on who to back at St Andrews with these tipster reviews.

There have also been doubts surrounding this year’s Open Championship, which is scheduled to take place at Royal St George’s Golf Club in Sandwich from July 16-19, with reports in the British press suggesting this week that an announcement was set to be made regarding the tournament’s postponement.

However, the R&A have now released a statement denying those claims and they remain hopeful this year’s event will still take place as planned, although they will continue to seek advice and monitor what is an ever-changing landscape.

“We are proceeding with our plans for The 149th Open at Royal St George’s,” the statement revealed.

“Like all sports, we are continuing to monitor the situation during the COVID-19 outbreak and will be carefully following the advice issued to us from the UK Government, relevant health authorities and our medical consultants.”

Shane Lowry is the defending Open champion having triumphed at Royal Portrush last year, while the last player to win at Royal St George’s was Darren Clarke in 2011.