The Women’s British Open will be held as planned, albeit without spectators, at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland from Aug. 20 to 23, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, which conducts the tournament, said on Tuesday. The event will be the first women’s major golf championship of 2020. Last month, another women’s major, the Evian Championship, which had been scheduled for early August, was canceled for this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Martin Slumbers, the chief executive of the R&A, called the Women’s British Open “important to the success of women’s professional golf.” He added: “We believe that playing the AIG Women’s British Open is a significant step for players whose playing opportunities have been severely impacted this year. As they compete to be the 2020 champion in historic circumstances, these athletes will continue to inspire golfers and sports fans around the world who will be closely following events from Royal Troon on TV and social media.”
The championship plans to restrict access to the grounds at Royal Troon to players, caddies, officials and staging staff, as well as to put in effect rigid health and safety guidelines at the golf course and at a designated hotel for the event. All attending personnel will be required to test negative for the virus and have their temperatures monitored daily.
The playing of the championship is still subject to the approval of local governmental and health authorities in the weeks leading up the event. With qualifying tournaments for the event canceled, the field for the Women’s British Open will largely be drawn from the women’s world golf rankings.
The Ladies Scottish Open will be played the week before the Women’s British Open at the Renaissance Club, also in Scotland. There will be no fans at that event.
The L.P.G.A. Tour has not held an event since the Women’s Australian Open in February but expects to resume its schedule July 31 at the Drive On Championship in Toledo, Ohio. Women’s professional golf is still hoping to conduct three more major championships in 2020. The ANA Inspiration, usually the first women’s major of the year, was postponed until Sept. 10 to 13 in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Another major, the Women’s P.G.A. Championship, was rescheduled for Oct. 8 to 11 in Newtown Square, Pa., and the United States Women’s Open has been moved to Dec. 10 to 13 in Houston.
After a five-month hiatus, the L.P.G.A. of Korea Tour resumed its schedule in May with a series of events featuring some of the world’s top-ranked golfers, including world No. 1, Jin Young Ko.
Source: Golf - nytimes.com
