The European Tour will resume its 2020 season on July 22, kicking off a six-week run in the United Kingdom that will carry the schedule into the fall.
The first event back will be the Betfred British Masters, which has been bumped up a week from its original dates and will run from Wednesday through Saturday. Lee Westwood will remain host at Close House, his home club, to kick off the first event since March.
The next five weeks will then feature events concocted by the European Tour to create playing opportunities at resort facilities with on-site lodging, making it easier for players to hunker down at tournament site.
The five-event stretch will be:
- July 30 - Aug 2: English Open, Marriott Forest of Arden, Birmingham, England
- Aug 6-9: English Championship, Marriott Hanbury Manor, Hertfordshire, England
- Aug 13-16: Celtic Classic, The Celtic Manor Resort, City of Newport, Wales
- Aug 20-23: Wales Open, The Celtic Manor Resort, City of Newport, Wales
- Aug 27-30: UK Championship, The Belfry, Sutton Coldfield, England
Celtic Manor, the Welsh resort which hosted the 2010 Ryder Cup, will hold down the middle of the swing with events in consecutive weeks. The Belfry, which has hosted four Ryder Cups, will end the swing. The European Tour will also donate £50,000 to each venue on the six-week run in appreciation for hosting the tournament. There will also be a money list for the six-week run, with the top 10 players earning money from a £250,000 pool that will be donated in their name to the charities of their choice.
This six-week run carries the European Tour through to September. The European Tour will announce the remaining details of the schedule through early December in the coming weeks. However, four Rolex Series events have been rescheduled.
The Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, set originally for July, will now be played at The Renaissance Club from Oct. 8-11, with the flagship BMW PGA Championship moving from September dates that would have been competing with the rescheduled US Open. Wentworth Club will host from Oct. 15-18.
The final two events of the year have moved into December, with the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa set for Dec. 3-6, and the season-ending DP World Tour Championship Dubai to be played at Juemirah Golf Estates from Dec. 10-13.
The European Tour also announced members will retain their 2020 tour status for 2021, and Q-School will not be played in 2020. Also, players will not be required to play a minimum number of events in 2020. There will be no graduates from the European Challenge Tour, but top-ranked players will be assured playing opportunities through the season.
“We recognize that when we resume playing golf, each player’s circumstances will be different," said European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley. "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."
