July 28: One of European Tour’s most high-profile events, the 2020 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, is cancelled. As per a report by Martin Dempster, the golf correspondent of The Scotsman, “This year’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is set to be added to the European Tour’s list of tournament cancellations due to its scale and the complexities of the rotating pro-am format at three venues making it difficult to deliver under current Covid-19 restrictions.”
The hugely popular event with a slew of celebrities and top pros is held at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns and was scheduled for October 1-4 October. So far it had been the only event to retain its original slot on a revised 2020 calendar. It was to take place the week before the rescheduled Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club in East Lothian.
The 20th Anniversary Championship is now rescheduled for September 30 – October 3, 2021.
The Scotsman reported that a decision has been made to call off the $5 million tournament, with an official announcement expected from the European Tour over the coming few days.
The paper added, Keith Pelley, the circuit’s chief executive, is believed to be looking to try to fill the slot with another event, having already come up with a new six-tournament UK Swing that started with last week’s Betfred British Masters at Close House, near Newcastle.
The European Tour’s health safety strategy worked well at the Betfred British Masters at Close House, near Newcastle and will continue to be implemented throughout a new six-event UK Swing. This week the UK Swing will see the Hero Open in Birmingham.
A logistical problem of trying organise security measures at three different golf courses for the Dunhill Links said to be the reason for cancellation. A huge field of pros apart, Pro-Am players travel for the event from all over the world. Travel restrictions and different set of rules for travel being followed in different parts of the world add to the problem.
The tournament is supported by Dunhill’s parent company Richemont. Its chairman and chief executive Johan Rupert, a South African entrepreneur, is an R&A member and one of the most prominent supporters of golf at all levels in Europe.
