The Ryder Cup will be postponed until 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to an ESPN report published Tuesday night.
The network reported that an official announcement to postpone the tournament will come Wednesday morning from PGA of America and the European Tour. The Presidents Cup subsequently will be pushed back to 2022 as the events remain on track to alternate every other year.
The Guardian of London reported the postponement two weeks ago, but no announcement has been made.
This year’s Ryder Cup had been slated to take place from Sept. 25-27 at Whistling Straits Golf Course in Kohler, Wis. The course has held three PGA championships in 2004, 2010 and 2015, with Jason Day claiming the most recent victory.
Rumors have swirled for months that the Ryder Cup could be canceled or postponed. The event was set to include Steve Stricker as captain of the U.S. team and Padraig Harrington as captain of the European team.
Golfers including Paul Casey said the event would not have been the same if fans were kept out.
“I want a Ryder Cup with full capacity,” Casey, of England, said earlier this summer. “I want it with screaming fans. I saw the headlines. …
“Even as a European, knowing how loud that would be for the American team, that’s what I want. We want to play a Ryder Cup in that environment, in that cauldron, and (postponing) is the right thing to do.”
Rory McIlroy also expressed recent concern about participating in the event.
“The players are the ones that make the Ryder Cup,” he said. “If they are not on board with it and don’t want to play then there is no Ryder Cup. I see it being pushed back until 2021, and, honestly, I think that will be the right call.”
The Ryder Cup has been interrupted five times previously by global events. It did not take place from 1939 through 1945, spanning four tournaments, because of World War II. The event also was pushed back a year because of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
With future editions moving to odd-numbered years, the 2022 event, scheduled for Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, would be moved to 2023. The next U.S. home series after Whistling Straits would occur in 2025 at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, N.Y. The 2026 event, set for Adare Manor in Ireland, would instead be held in 2027 — the year of the Cup’s 100th anniversary.
–Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)
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