The fate of this summer’s Ryder Cup golf tournament is set to be announced next week, with The Guardian reporting that it will be postponed until 2021.
With various sports events around the world having resumed following the impact of Covd-19 – albeit with various levels of health and safety precautions – there was hope that the bi-annual golf event that pits Team US versus Team Europe would be able to continue as originally scheduled at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, US, hosted on Sept. 25 to 27.
However, as reported in The Guardian, the event is expected to be pushed back until next year following the latest talks between the PGA of America and the European Tour (the two governing bodies who preside over the tournament).
The PGA of America recently announced that the US PGA Championship (the first major of the year) will be held in early August 2020 without spectators – but the same decision is not expected to be taken with regards to the Ryder Cup, a tournament famous for its vocal crowd interaction.
In recent weeks a number of players, including world No. 1 Rory McIlroy and four-time major winner Brooks Koepka, have spoken out against hosting the tournament ‘behind closed doors’, with Koepka stating that himself and other players would consider sitting out if it was held without spectators.
Both the US captain, Steve Stricker, and his European counterpart, Padraig Harrington, are also believed to be opposed to playing without fans as well.