Report: Ryder Cup to Be Postponed; Official Announcement Expected Soon

Report: Ryder Cup to Be Postponed; Official Announcement Expected Soon article feature image
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Montana Pritchard/PGA of America via Getty Images. Pictured: A Ryder Cup logo is seen during a news conference.

Amid rampant speculation that this year’s Ryder Cup will be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an announcement confirming the news is now imminent, according to an ESPN report.

The report states that the biennial team event will be pushed back to 2021, the second time in the last two decades that it has been postponed. The 2001 edition of the competition was similarly pushed backed one year due to 9/11.

It is expected to remain at current host venue Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisc.

One of the main sticking points for this year’s Ryder Cup was spectator attendance. Unlike the restart of the PGA TOUR schedule, which hasn’t allowed for any fans on-site — and won’t for at least the first seven tournaments — the Ryder Cup is fueled by boisterous, patriotic crowds and many potential competitors expressed passionate disdain for playing the event without fans.

Among those who maintained they’d rather postpone than play with no spectators are European team stalwarts Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, plus Brooks Koepka of the U.S. team.

“Obviously. playing in front of no fans at a Ryder Cup is very different than playing in front of no fans at a TOUR event,” McIlroy said last month. “I love the Ryder Cup. But I just can't see it going ahead without fans. I don't think I'll be put in that position to make that choice.”

It is expected that Steve Stricker and Thomas Bjorn will remains captains of the U.S. and European teams, respectively.

One previous unknown was the short-term future of the Presidents Cup, which is scheduled to be played at Quail Hollow next autumn. When the Ryder Cup was previously postponed, it pushed back each of the biennial events by one more year. According to the ESPN report, this would happen once again, with the next Presidents Cup now taking place in 2022.

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