First, it was Augusta National postponing the Masters.
Next in the postponement crosshairs was the PGA Championship at San Francisco’s TPC Harding Park. The U.S. Open was then put in jeopardy when an executive order closed Winged Foot, halting all preparations.
The coronavirus outbreak has now reached the doors of Royal St. George’s with the R&A announcing on Monday that the 149th Open Championship has been canceled. The British Open was scheduled for July 16-19, which would have been the final major championship of 2020.
The last time the Open was not contested was from 1940-1945 because of World War II. St. Andrews hosted the 1939 Open and then served as host for the return of competition in 1946. The Open was also not held from 1915-1919 due to World War I.
Last week, the R&A and USGA jointly announced the Curtis Cup, a female amateur biennial team match, was being moved back a year from its originally scheduled dates of June 12-14, 2020.
These moves come on the heels of the cancellation of the most important Grand Slam tennis tournament of the year. In a move that had been signaled strongly over the last week, the All England Club canceled Wimbledon for 2020, citing the “likely trajectory” of the coronavirus outbreak in the United Kingdom and the logistical impossibility of setting up the event at a point later in the summer.
It will be the first time Wimbledon hasn’t crowned a champion since the tournament paused between 1940 and 1945 due to World War II.
USA TODAY Sports’ Dan Wolken contributed to this article.
