European Tour announces resumption of 2020 season

The European Tour today announced plans for the resumption of the 2020 season with the launch of a new six-week ‘UK Swing’ as well as the confirmation of new dates for four Rolex Series events.

https://www.europeantour.com/european-tour/news/articles/detail/european-tour-announces-resumption-of-2020-season/

Following the suspension of the season on March 8 due to the global Coronavirus pandemic, the European Tour will return to action initially behind closed doors in July and run through until December. All tournaments will be subject to stringent safety and testing protocols set out in the Tour’s comprehensive Health Strategy which will continue to evolve, aligned with international Government guidance and health guidelines.

The first tournament in the ‘UK Swing’ is the Betfred British Masters hosted by Lee Westwood, which will be played at Close House, near Newcastle in the north east of England, from Wednesday July 22 to Saturday July 25 – a week earlier than originally scheduled.

It will be followed by the English Open at the Marriott Forest of Arden and the English Championship at Marriott Hanbury Manor, before The Celtic Manor Resort in Newport hosts back-to-back European Tour tournaments – the Celtic Classic and the Wales Open.

It is a timely return to the south Wales resort as this year also marks the tenth anniversary of Europe’s dramatic victory against the United States in The 2010 Ryder Cup at the same venue.

The UK Swing will then conclude with the UK Championship at The Belfry, another venue rich in Ryder Cup history, having played host to four contests with Europe triumphing in two (1985 and 2002), the US having won in 1993, with the 1989 match ending in a 14-14 tie

Details of subsequent tournaments on the European Tour from September through to November will be announced in due course, with a variety of scheduling options currently under consideration as the global situation continues to evolve.

However, rescheduled dates have been announced for four Rolex Series events; the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club which now takes place from October 8-11 and the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club which moves to the following week, October 15-18.

There are also new dates for the final two tournaments of the year. The Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player is now scheduled for December 3-6 at Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, with the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, now due to take place from December 10-13 at Jumeirah Golf Estates, where the 2020 Race to Dubai Champion will be crowned

Keith Pelley, European Tour Chief Executive, said: “Since the suspension of our 2020 season in early March, we have taken a measured approach in reassessing our schedule, informed every step of the way by our medical advisers and government guidance.

“We have consistently said that safety is our absolute priority and that is why today we are announcing our resumption in two months’ time supported by a comprehensive health strategy which has been led by our medical team.

“Without question we have had to think differently about the remainder of our 2020 season which is reflected in today’s announcement. As golf’s global Tour, diversity is ordinarily one of our biggest strengths, but in this instance it has become one of our biggest challenges.

“Initially, therefore, based on the expert guidance we received, playing in clusters, in one territory, is the best option in terms of testing, travel and accommodation.

While the intention remains to crown a new Race to Dubai Champion on Sunday December 13, as part of the changes to the end of the 2020 season caused by the impact of COVID-19, the European Tour’s Tournament Committee recently agreed that all Members’ 2020 Categories, and their ranking within that category, will be retained in 2021 with related playing rights being protected to the absolute maximum possible in the 2021 season.

That decision was passed unanimously by the Committee, as was the fact that there will no longer be a ‘Minimum Tournament Regulation’ for the 2020 season.

Pelley added: “We recognize that when we resume playing golf, each player’s circumstances will be different. We therefore do not want to put anyone in a position whereby they feel they have no choice other than to play in certain events in order to protect their livelihood.

“Similarly, the feeling was that it was not fair to disadvantage any member who might want to play in an event but who might not be able to due to ongoing travel restrictions. Therefore, in consultation with our Tournament Committee, it was agreed preserving their exempt status for 2021 was the fairest solution in these unprecedented times.

“As a consequence, there will be no Qualifying School this year and no formal graduation from the Challenge Tour, although the Tournament Committee has agreed to reward exceptional performance on both the European Tour and the Challenge Tour in 2020, precise details of which we will announce in due course.”

Congratulations to Lorie Kane, member Canada's Sports Hall of Fame

For all of us who have had the good fortune of meeting and working with PEI's Lorie Kane and for all Canadians who have supported her throughout her distinguished career it came as no surprise when word came out she will receive the Order of Canada when she will be inducted in the 2020/21 class of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame along with 10 others including Steve Nash.

She was awarded the Bobby Rosenfield Award in 1997 and 2000 and was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 2016 after being awarded the Order of Canada in 2006.

After turning pro in 1993, her career included 11 wins, 4 on the LPGA Tour (including 3 in her banner year 2000), 5 on the Legends Tour and 2 with Janice Moodie in the Hyundai Team Matches. She finished 2nd 7 times on the LPGA Tour. She also represented Canada at the World Cup in 2005./06./08.

One of my most popular guest hosts on the Morning Show at the Fan590 was the annual appearance of the legend Don Cherry. He took his 3 hour stint seriously and arrived with hand written notes after we'd discussed the show's content. He always insisted that the first guest he wanted on the show was Lorie Kane.

That tells you what you need to know about her. "A good Canadian Girl eh" as Don would say. Lorie never quit trying, conducted herself with dignity, represented her country with honour, and was as comfortable with the back room staff as she was with the world's dignitaries.

She was, is and always be a class act, and a great Canadian.

Bryan Angus

The Match raises $20,000,000 for COVID-19 relief with 2 weeks to go for PGA Tour

https://www.pgatour.com/news/2020/05/24/live-updates-scores-the-match-tiger-woods-phil-mickelson-tom-brady-peyton-manning-medalist-golf-club-coronavirus-covid-19-relief.html

Any time you put Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson together in a made for TV exhibition match, then throw in 2 American sports heroes, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning and some celebrity commentators, you can be sure of a ratings bonanza, and that's exactly what they got for "The Match, Champions for Charity" at the Medalist in Florida.

An all time cable TV high rating for golf of 5.8 million was the result, to a sports world starved of some live action resulted in a massive $20,000,000 raised for the fight against COVID-19. It's peak at 6.3m was the highest rated show of the day.

That money raised was the best storyline of the day. The weather (rain) and the golf not so much. Tiger looked good, Phil looked rusty but provided some great shots and patter, while Tom Brady, and Peyton Manning, well let's just say they didn't have their A,or B games, however their status as Hall of Fame QB's was enough to attract the non golf audience.

For a full report on the match click on my link above. For the record Tiger and Peyton won by a hole.

There are now 2 weeks left to go before the PGA Tour plunges ahead with their plan to return to golf with no spectators for the Charles Schwab Challenge, Fort Worth Texas, at the Colonial GC, June 11.

This is apparently with the blessing of the leading medical authorities, commissioner Jay Monahan making it clear back in April they would not proceed without that confirmation.

While COVID-19 numbers are by far the worst in the USA, it is such a large country that the pandemic varies wildly from state to state and as such is being treated differently by respective governors.

Of the 1.6m cases in the USA, Texas has reported 56,000 with over 1500 deaths up until the Memorial weekend. They are averaging 1000-1200 new cases per day. The state has been slowly opening up bars and businesses at 25% capacity.

Rory McIlroy is the headliner, most international players not living in USA won't be attending due to 14 day isolation requirements. Complete health and safety regulations are in force for the event, caddies are allowed.

Recently the Bundisliga in Germany has resumed play in empty stadiums, as has Nascar. All other pro sports are still inactive worldwide with the exception of baseball and ladies golf in South Korea.

Bryan Angus

PGA Tour returning to play in June ignores "we're all in this together"

Hi everybody, I'm both relieved and delighted to get my computer back, like everything else in this pandemic, it wasn't straight forward, as many big box stores like Best Buy, and Staples stopped doing repairs to concentrate on online sales instead. The line up outside Canadian Computers everyday was a tribute to their decision to combine on line sales with curbside pick up and repairs.

Driving Relief Skins

The weekend Driving Relief skins match with Rory, DJ vs Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff at Seminole GC in rainy Florida has had very mixed reviews. The upside was the $6m they raised to fight COVID_19. Skins are all about personalities and the match that unfolds provides the foil for their interaction. The original Skins with Arnie, Jack, Gary and Lee was a guaranteed smash hit before it started even if the play was spotty. 

In the annals of matches since, this weekends missed the gallery to play up to, the interaction between players and their caddies, suffered from the social distancing, and as entertainers DJ, Rickie never have much to say, Wolff is a quiet rookie, leaving Rory as the spark plug.

PGA Tour's return to play

This brings me to the re-start of the PGA Tour's season June 11-14 at the Colonial GC in Fort Worth Texas. You'll remember the first four tournaments will all look a lot like this weekend's televised Skins match. No fans, social distancing, flags left in untouched all part of the plan.

So the USA is currently the world's hotspot for COVID_19 by a longshot with 1.5m positive tests and 90,000 deaths and rising daily.

The schedule proposed by Commissioner Jay Monahan and his staff has gone from being " proposed completely dependent on the advice of our medical staffs with the safety of our players, and all concerned utmost in our minds" to a done deal, with Rory leading the way announcing he will play the first three.

We are 24 days away as I write from the first tee shot. 

Why would the PGA Tour go out on a limb to go ahead with this with the pandemic raging in the USA. Yes sponsors would like a return on their investments, yes TV is desperate to fill all that airtime whether it's good or bad, yes pro golfers are itching to play and yes some golf fans are keen to watch the return.

The virus is more acute in some states than others, which has led to demonstrations in states like Minnesota, Wisconsin and Florida who just want to be left alone to get on with their lives as if COVID_19 didn't exist.

In reality when you have much of the world being asked daily, as we are here in Canada to stay home, locked down in isolation, only to go out for supplies, medication and isolated exercise as the only solution to slow down and eventually stop this disastrous virus that has killed approaching 500,000, that has ruined millions financially by crippling the world's economy, why would you take this stance, this chance ? 

The European Tour has a contingency plan in place, but unlike the PGA Tour, Keith Pelley and his staff have kept it to themselves, closing everything down including The Open, until the WORLDWIDE situation dictates any resumption. They are saying "our season is of little importance compared to the devastation of COVID_19"

All other major leagues are taking the same approach although NASCAR Racing and the Bundisliga experimented with a live return with no spectators this past weekend. The AHL just cancelled their season and the NHL should follow suit soon.

Lets be honest, without Tiger, regular weekly golf is not very exciting to watch even with huge galleries and no restrictions. TV ratings are no where near the NFL, NBA or MLB in North America, and of course soccer ratings rule the rest of the world.

I realize some public golf courses are slowly opening up for the time being if we follow all the severe restrictions, we can get out and play, like going for a long walk. On the other hand, Sweden who decided to stay open, have had a terrible spike in COVID and are now closing down.

In my opinion the PGA Tour putting pro golf back on TV, while medical staff are trying to persuade the rest of us to stay home, to buy into a world wide "we're all in this together" is fraught with danger, self absorbed and to be honest irresponsible and unnecessary.


Bryan Angus

Restricted play in Ontario starts this weekend...PGA Tour putting commercial interests before world pandemic

Hi guys..So sorry for the delay. My faithful ACER has crashed with memory loss. Canadian Computers to the Repair Rescue while all the big names are opting out..

Friday at 4pm is the due date for repair ...my how we miss our computers !!

So I have tons to say..Golf back in Ontario...PGA Tour is "cruisin' for a bruisin"   details on my conversation with #GeoffShackelton

Back tomorrow with re vamped computer

Take care my friends

This off my phone...

Bryan