James Sugrue was forced to abandon plans for his US PGA Tour debut later this month due to a visa problem.
Mallow’s 2019 amateur champion had been invited to participate in the prestigious Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in Ohio from July 13 to 19, but his departure is scheduled for the United States last Saturday to complete a mandatory quarantine period of 14 days before The event was shocked because he did not receive notification that his visa application had been approved until the eve of the flight.
Added to the recent increase in Covid-19 cases in some U.S. states, allied to a handful of positive tests recorded by PGA Tour professionals and caddy in recent weeks since the resumption of a modified 2020 program and uncertainty about the ability to proceed with tournaments in the coming weeks Sugrue decided not to travel.
“I should have gone to the Memorial this Saturday just gone,” he said. “I was supposed to leave on Saturday morning to start the 14 days of quarantine, but everything got a little confusing for a number of reasons, not least my visa didn’t arrive until Friday evening.
“This is the hand that has been given to us, unfortunately. The old cliche is “check for controllable” and we have no control over the coronavirus. So there is no point in stopping it, it happened, nobody expected it, and this is a worldwide problem, not just a James Sugrue thing. At the moment there are many more important things than golf.
“And the last thing I want is to go to America and bring home something that family members can catch.”
The latest setback marks the third time this year that Sugrue has missed an opportunity to attend a professional event in the United States due to the coronavirus pandemic. His success in the amateur R & A championship in Portmarnock last summer earned him exemptions for the 2019 Open at the Royal Portrush, the 2020 Masters and the US Open in April and June this year. Both US majors were postponed and the PGA Tour was suspended when the outbreak hit the American coast.
Sugrue plans to be in the United States for the rescheduled US Open at the Winged Foot in New York this September and also Augusta National in November for the Masters, although the prospects for competitive preparation in the coming months will be limited for Corkman.
“My next tournament is scheduled for August at the American Amateur League, so it’s almost a one-year cancellation. There aren’t many golf tournaments on the horizon for me. I am practicing and playing as usual, I suppose, since the courses have reopened, only minus the important ingredient in the golf tournament. ”
