We knew it was coming. This morning, golf’s various organizers announced a revamped schedule for 2020 in hopes that the coronavirus pandemic will allow them to proceed later in the year.
The day first started with The Open being cancelled. Pretty crazy, considering The Open Championship was cancelled for just the first time since World War II.
But, the hopeful news came soon after with an announcement that the Masters is being rescheduled from this week to November.
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T&C APPLY | NJ, PA, IN, CO, NJ, MI, IA, LA, MS, OH ONLY Join NowFrom Masters chairman Fred Ridley:
“We have identified November 9-15 as the intended dates to host the 2020 Masters. We hope the anticipation of staging the Tournament brings a moment of joy to the Augusta community and those who love the game.”
PGA Teeing Up Busy November
If all of this holds, and there is a big if still, there is a potential for a Masters in November, and the U.S. Open and Ryder Cup in back-to-back weeks.
Today’s announcements were made courtesy of the European Tour, PGA TOUR, LPGA and the four governing bodies for the men’s major championships. The parties announced that they plan to host three majors, starting with the PGA Championship on Aug. 6.
Of course this is all fluid and depends on how the climate looks in the future, so the announcement was made with the following provision:
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T&C APPLY | NJ, PA, IN, CO, NJ, MI, IA, LA, MS, OH ONLY Join Now“We remain very mindful of the obstacles ahead, and each organization will continue to follow the guidance of the leading public health authorities, conducting competitions only if it is safe and responsible to do so.”
To note, it was not discussed if these tournaments would be played with spectators in attendance, limited fields or any other social distancing-related constraints.
Again, this could all be a moving target since it also will depend on how each state’s leadership feels about hosting sporting events.
If you remember, it was just two days ago that California governor Gavin Newsom talked about the potential for NFL games to be played in his state come fall:
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T&C APPLY | NJ, PA, IN, CO, NJ, MI, IA, LA, MS, OH ONLY Join Now“I’m not anticipating that happening in this state.”
Today’s announcement did state that the PGA TOUR could return as early as June 18, which was the original date for the U.S. Open.
The U.S. Open will, for now, be pushed back three months, beginning on Sept. 17 and remaining at Winged Foot. That would be immediately followed by the Ryder Cup. The dates would be Sept. 25-27, and would still be hosted at Whistling Straits.
If everything does play out exactly as listed today, it would mean that for the first time ever, the Masters would be the final major championship on the year-long calendar. How exciting would that be?
McIlroy Early Re-scheduled Masters Favorite
Sports fans and oddsmakers alike celebrated once the re-scheduled Masters news was announced this morning. In fact, Jeff Sherman of the Westgate SuperBook posted the following odds on Twitter:
Rory McIlroy 8/1
Jon Rahm 12/1
Brooks Koepka 14/1
Justin Thomas 16/1
Dustin Johnson 16/1
Tiger Woods 16/1
Patrick Cantlay 25/1
Xander Schauffele 25/1
Ricky Fowler 25/1
Tommy Fleetwood 30/1
Bryson DeChambeau 30/1
We’re still a long ways away from all of this actually happening, so I don’t have any picks yet, but, we will take any good news we can get on the sports betting front. Stay safe, friends.
