Portugal Masters postponed and Euro Tour main lays out other issues in memo | Golf Information and Tour Info
Things are not getting any less difficult for the European Tour. Subsequent what proved to be an unsuccessful supply from the PGA Tour to host a few tournaments in Florida up coming thirty day period, the Outdated World circuit on Friday introduced the postponement of the Portugal Masters. The Tenerife Open up, at first scheduled for April 15-18, will now choose the location of the Portuguese party, April 29-May well 2. The Gran Canaria Lopesan Open up stays in put, April 22-25.
In a memo to his users noticed by Golf Digest, European Tour Main Govt Keith Pelley intimated confidence in his capacity to fill the April 15-18 slot “by up coming 7 days.” Really should that transpire, a five-sturdy operate of situations will continue being in put, culminating in the French Open Could 6-9 and the British Masters Might 12-15.
“As normally, the earlier mentioned is to attempt and make sure that we maximize chances for all associates provided the travel and quarantine constraints we are at present dealing with across Europe and the environment,” reported Pelley.
Still, the Canadian was much less encouraging when it arrived to his ongoing investigation of the affect Covid-19 carries on to have on a schedule of activities complex by the cosmopolitan nature of the European Tour.
“The fact is that running any international enterprise in the midst of a pandemic is pretty hard,” continued Pelley. “We have executed a collection of functioning groups with all of your participant reps on the Board, to listen to all of their sights on the impression of COVID this period. At the exact time, we also talked these groups by means of some probable answers to mitigate this affect if they are felt needed. These are all developed to keep the season as a counting year and retain the promotion and relegation that all of your Event Committee and the associates of these operating teams see as important.”
As element of that course of action, a collection of one-to-one particular periods have been performed with people associates most impacted by “severe quarantine protocols at both end of their journeys and/or by other journey restrictions.”
“Taking into account all of this comments, we are now refining and adding to some of our proposed alternatives and our future action [once this process is complete] is to consider your Tournament Committee via these proposals and achieve a consensus check out on what answers could be applied and when,” said Pelley. “One of the other crystal clear messages we have obtained is that we ought to not glimpse to make definitive conclusions on this far too early, whilst the spring schedule and amount of effects on the relaxation of the time remains unsure.”
In other phrases, as Pelley went on to underline, “every member is staying impacted by COVID this year” and “every member has to settle for this to some degree—these are, right after all, difficult periods for anyone in all walks of existence.”
There was just one piece of excellent news. Since gamers are probably to be pressured into “managed quarantine” as they travel from country to country, the tour “with instant effect” is implementing a method of money support.
Pelley’s letter ended with many thanks to the gamers for their “patience and being familiar with,” attributes it appears like they are going to have to have in abundance around the coming months.