Open Championship Canceled: R&A Makes Right Decision

It’s not the decision that golf fans wanted to hear, but it’s the right decision. The R&A has canceled the 2020 Open Championship.

On Monday, the R&A announced that the 2020 Open Championship (what we also call the British Open) had been canceled. Not postponed, like the other three major championships on the schedule. The 2020 Open Championship is not happening.

While this was a very tough decision, the R&A made it clear that, after weighing its options, this was the best one for everyone involved. Still, this is a huge blow for the golfing world.

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“Our absolute priority is to protect the health and safety of the fans, players, officials, volunteers and staff involved in The Open,” R&A Chairman Martin Slumbers said in a statement. “We care deeply about this historic Championship and have made this decision with a heavy heart. We appreciate that this will be disappointing for a great many people around the world but we have to act responsibly during this pandemic and it is the right thing to do. I can assure everyone that we have explored every option for playing The Open this year but it is not going to be possible.”

There are a number of reasons that this is the right decision. Among those:

1.       The health and well-being of everyone involved

2.       Players might have boycotted, or simply skipped the event due to health concerns

3.       Playing the Open without a gallery would not be the same

The R&A also got it right by simply pushing everything back a year. That way, Royal St. George’s, which was set to host the Open this summer, will not miss its turn in the rota. And, the 150th anniversary of the Open Championship will still take place at the home of golf, St. Andrews, but now will be in 2022 instead of 2021.

Shane Lowry will get to hang on to the Claret Jug for another year, as the 2019 Champion Golfer of the Year will not be able to defend his title until 2021. Trust us, Lowry won’t mind keeping that title for an extra year.

We are living in unprecedented times in 2020. When the Open was last canceled, in 1945, it was due to World War II. No one could have imagined that the next cancellation of the event would be due to a worldwide virus instead of a war. But that’s where the world is at this point, and the R&A decided to do its part to help control the spread of the virus rather than host its premier event this season. And that was the right decision.