European Tour Postpones Two Events Due To Corona-Virus
By Matt Coles
Due to the outbreak of the corona-virus, the European Tour has come to the decision to postpone two events in Asia that were scheduled to be played in April.
The Maybank Championship, which was scheduled to be played the week after the Masters, from April 16-19 at the Saujana Golf & Country Club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the Volvo China Open, which was scheduled to take place at Genzon Golf Club in Shenzhen between April 23-26, have both been postponed due to the outbreak of the Corona-virus (Covid-19).
Both tournaments have been postponed following discussions between the European Tour, title sponsors, and tournament directors, with the European Tour and Asian Tour accepting a request from title sponsor and promoter Maybank to postpone the Maybank Championship.
The decision to postpone the Volvo China Open on the European Tour was taken following consultation with tournament stakeholders; the China Golf Association, Genzon Golf Club, Shenzhen Government, title sponsor Volvo and promoters Mitime Golf.
The European Tour has said that discussions remain ongoing with all parties with the hope of both events being rescheduled for later in the 2020 calendar.
Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour, and Datuk Abdul Farid Alias, Group President & CEO of Maybank, both put the players and spectators first.
"“The well-being of our players, spectators and staff is always our absolute priority. While it is therefore regrettable that the Maybank Championship and Volvo China Open have been postponed, we feel this is the correct course of action at this time. We are currently investigating alternative dates for both events,” Pelley explained."
Meanwhile, Alias said:
"“The decision to postpone the Maybank Championship was made after intense deliberation and careful consideration in the interest of all the players, visitors, working teams and partners.”“The postponement of the Maybank Championship was not an easy decision to make, however, the safety of all stakeholders takes precedence, and we want to ensure that any risk of possible exposure to Covid-19 is mitigated.”"
The next event on the European Tour will be the WGC-Mexico Championship, an event co-sanctioned with the PGA TOUR. It takes place at Chapultepec GC in Mexico City from February 20-23.