MIAMI – The showdown of the Ryder Cup this year between Europe and the United States has been postponed to 2021 on Wednesday, becoming the last major sporting event interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The PGA of America, the Ryder Cup Europe and the US PGA Tour have announced the 43rd biennial game, which was set for the Whistling Straits in Wisconsin on September 25-27, and will instead be staged from 24 to 26 September 2021. .
Safety concerns have increased as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the United States and no one has wanted to organize a Ryder Cup without the passionate crowds whose applause and songs animate a unique atmosphere in golf.
See you next year ❤️???? pic.twitter.com/jcIRDZMilb
– Ryder Cup (@rydercup) July 8, 2020
“As disappointing as it is, our mandate to do everything possible to safeguard public health is what matters most,” said Seth Waugh, CEO of the PGA of America.
“Spectators who support both the American and European sides are what make the Ryder Cup such a unique and compelling event and playing without them was not a realistic option.”
An expected 2021 Cup between a U.S. team and Quail Hollow’s international non-European team will be postponed to September 22-25, 2022, with a Ryder Cup in Rome retiring a year from 2023.
The postponement has been the first for the Ryder Cup since 2001, when the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington delayed the games by a year. The cup was not played from 1939 to 1945 due to the Second World War.
Holders Europe will keep the trophy won in France in 2018 for another year.
The global COVID-19 epidemic has prevented spectators from participating in golf events, including the US PGA Tour tournaments, after returning in June after a three-month shutdown.
The leadership of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as state and local officials pushed the decision, with health considerations top priority.
“Our medical experts and public authorities in Wisconsin could not give us the certainty that it would be possible to conduct an event responsibly with thousands of spectators in September,” said Waugh. “Given this uncertainty, we knew that reprogramming was the right choice.”
– “The right thing to do” –
World number one Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and four-time team mate Brooks Koepka of the United States were among the best players who didn’t want a Ryder Cup without fans.
“We considered all the options, even playing with limited participation, but all our stakeholders agreed that this would dilute the magic of this great occasion,” said Ryder Cup European director Guy Kinnings.
US captain Steve Stricker and European counterpart Padraig Harrington have agreed that it would be better to wait than to stage a Ryder Cup without spectators.
“When you think of the Ryder Cup, you think of the distinctive atmosphere generated by spectators, like around the first tee at Le Golf National two years ago,” said Harrington.
“If this cannot be responsibly recreated in the Whistling Strait in September, then it is correct that we all expect it to be.”
Stricker, originally from Wisconsin, agreed, saying “Although the Ryder Cup is disappointing this year, the decision to reschedule is the right thing to do in these circumstances. We now have the opportunity to show the event. as it should be seen. ”
Both sides will examine how the roster will be grouped, with the European qualification process blocked until January 2021, Harrington says golfers shouldn’t feel extra pressure to play now given the COVID-19 problems.
The return to odd years means that Bethpage Black, near New York, will host in 2025 and the 100th anniversary edition of the Ryder Cup will be played at Ireland Adare Manor in 2027.
The change of the Presidents’ Cup means that the next US PGA championship Wells Fargo will be played in Quail Hollow next year, but will move to the TPC Potomac in the suburbs of Washington DC in 2022 while the team event is played at the Charlotte layout, North Carolina.
The British Open, originally scheduled for next week at Royal St. George’s, has been canceled due to COVID-19.
The Master was reprogrammed from April to November, while the PGA championship passed from May to August and the US Open moved from June to September.
© Agence France-Presse
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