Ryder Cup officials postponed the September matches until next year because of the COVID-19 pandemic that made it increasingly unlikely the loudest event in golf could have spectators.
“A Ryder Cup with no fans is not a Ryder Cup,” PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh said.
Now, the Ryder Cup — the biennial tournament between U.S. and Europe — will remain at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin along the Lake Michigan shore but move to Sept. 24-26, 2021, the second time in the past two decades it was postponed. The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks led the 2001 matches to be postponed.
That delay also pushes back the Presidents Cup — a biennial tournament between the U.S. and an International team — a year to 2022 at Quail Hollow in North Carolina.
The postponements will have a ripple effect on future events in San Francisco. The Presidents Cup, previously scheduled for 2025 at Harding Park, will move to 2026. And the Ryder Cup at the Olympic Club will be held in 2033, not ’32.
The PGA Tour resumed its schedule a month ago and has not allowed spectators for at least seven events. The PGA Championship at Harding Park, Aug. 6-9, will be the first major without fans.
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NASCAR’s Johnson is OK’d to race
Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson has twice tested negative for the coronavirus and will race Sunday at Kentucky Speedway.
Johnson missed the first race of his Cup career — after 663 consecutive starts — when he tested positive Friday in Indianapolis. He was tested after his wife received a positive result.
Hendrick Motorsports said Johnson tested negative Monday and Tuesday and will return to the No. 48 Chevrolet at Kentucky.
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