(Reuters) – The PGA Tour is poised to announce a compacted calendar this week but the coronavirus-ravaged schedule will not include the Canadian Open due to cross-border travel restrictions between the United States and Canada, TSN.ca reported on Wednesday.
The Safeway Open in Napa, California confirmed on Wednesday that it had been moved up into the Sept. 10-13 slot, between the season-ending Tour Championships and the rescheduled U.S. Open, becoming the opening event on the 2020-2021 PGA Tour schedule.
The Canadian Open, currently scheduled for June 11-14, did not make the cut primarily due to border restrictions that limit non-essential travel between the U.S. and Canada.
Anyone entering Canada from abroad is also subject to a 14-day quarantine period.
Canadian PGA Tour players were briefed on the decision during a Wednesday conference call with Golf Canada, said TSN.
“It sucks,” said Nick Taylor, winner of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. “This is definitely a tournament I circle on my calendar.
“This year, with so many Canadians playing on the PGA Tour and, for me, having my best year ever, it would have been great. But right now, getting back to golf seems a long way away.”
The revised calendar, which is expected to be announced on Thursday, will begin with the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas from June 11-14.
The PGA Tour restart is also not likely to include fans with restrictive health and safety guidelines in place in the United States to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The revamped schedule, according to Golf Digest, would include 13 tournaments concluding with the Tour Championship in Atlanta from Sept. 3-7.
The golf season would continue, however, with three marquee events with the rescheduled U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y., (Sept. 17-20), the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin (Sept. 25-27) and the Masters at Augusta National (Nov. 12-15).
The other majors, the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco has been rescheduled for Aug. 6-9 while the Open Championship at Royal St. George’s was cancelled.
(Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto; Editing by Toby Davis)
