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Elite amateur golf looks set to grind to a halt for the next few weeks with the authorities around the globe being left with no alternative but to postpone events in the wake of the escalating coronavirus pandemic.
In the past few weeks the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific, the Queen Sirikit Cup, the Bonallack Trophy and the Patsy Hankins Trophy all have been affected and last week the disruption intensified with a big increase in events being postponed or cancelled both in Europe and the United States.
The first sign that the situation was worsening came when the Italian Golf Federation postponed its men’s and women’s International Amateur Championships as well as several other international senior events. The prestigious European Nations Cup at Sotogrande, which usually attracts teams from all the leading golfing countries, was the next to be postponed and that was followed shortly afterwards by the GUI and the ILGU cancelling the Irish Girls’ Open Stroke Play, the annual Boys’ match against Wales and several other events, and Scottish Golf scrapping the Scottish Boys’ and Girls’ Open Championships and the Helen Holm Scottish Women’s Open.
The disruption has been by no means limited to Europe with several leading US amateur events being postponed including the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and the club’s Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals.
Arguably the most vivid illustration of the severity of the situation came when the NCAA cancelled the remainder of the US collegiate season on safety grounds.
“This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to the spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at a time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities,” the NCAA said in a statement.
From a European and US golfing perspective the escalating problem could not have come at a worse time with the season due to begin in earnest during the next few weeks, and it now looks all but certain that many more events will be disrupted.
The next international European events facing potential postponement or cancellation include the West of Ireland Championship at Co. Sligo (April 8-14), the French International Boys’ Championship at Golf des Aisses and the French International Lady Juniors Championship at St Cloud (both April 9-13). The Peter McEvoy Trophy at Copt Heath is scheduled for the week starting April 13 but is likely to be under threat and with some government scientists predicting the problem will not peak in Europe for another 10-12 weeks, it could be well into the summer before some semblance of normality is restored.
It is not just at the elite amateur level that golf will be adversely affected.
Many British golf clubs already have taken a huge financial hit thanks to the wettest winter on record and some may be taken to the brink if the current situation does not improve in the short to medium term.
However, public health remains the biggest issue and with that in mind the home unions have started to issue guidance to their affiliated clubs and golfers.
They are urging everyone to monitor the advice given by the health authorities and to follow the advice of qualified professionals when it comes to controlling the spread of COVID-19.
“The expert practical advice that is available from the health authorities and national government should remain the first point of reference for all our golf clubs and golfers,” said new England Golf chief executive, Jeremy Tomlinson. “This is clearly a fluid and developing situation and we will continue to monitor events as they progress and pass on the relevant information to our stakeholders.
“By working in alignment with those who are specialists in the field we will be able to take the necessary precautions and provide the correct measures to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak.”
English amateur international Lily May Humphreys added to her growing list of prestigious titles when she teamed with professional Will Percival to win the 86th Sunningdale Foursomes.
The Essex youngsters beat Sean Towndrow and Peter Tarver-Jones, 2 and 1, in the semi-finals and then in the afternoon looked to be cruising to victory before a spirited fightback from past US Senior Open champion Roger Chapman and his amateur partner Ben Holden pushed the match to the last hole before Humphreys and Percival won by one hole.
Humphreys and Percival became the fifth mixed team to lift the trophy in the past nine years and succeeded Swedish amateur internationals Linn Grant and Maja Stark as champions, meaning that no less than seven women have got their hands on the trophy during that time.
In the morning Chapman and Holden beat Andrew George and Emily Slater, 5 and 4, to reach the final, which was no mean feat given that just six weeks before Holden had been suffering from acute appendicitis and did not think he would be able to play.
Chapman was bidding to become champion for a second time having teamed with George Will to beat Neil Coles and Doug McClelland, 3 and 2, in the 1979 final.
Earlier in the week, tournament favourites Charley Hull and Ryan Evans lost by one hole in the third round against Towndrow and Tarver-Jones. It was the English pair’s second big scalp of the week because in the second round they thrashed past Open and Masters champion Sandy Lyle and amateur partner James Bunch, 5 and 4.
The challenge of Laura Davies and Trish Johnson ended on the first morning with the veteran Solheim Cup duo losing, 2 and 1, to Scottish professionals Craig Lee and Heather MacRae.
Tom McKibbin’s hopes of defending his Sage Valley Junior Invitational title were dashed after a sluggish start in Graniteville, South Carolina.
The Northern Ireland teenager was 10 shots off the pace after an opening 77 but then recovered to post a 69 and 73 to finish in a tie for 25th place in a group that also included Sweden’s Wilmer Ederö on 3-over-par 219.
The leading European player in an event dominated by American players was reigning Brabazon and Carris Trophy champion Ben Schmidt from Barnsley, who carded rounds of 72, 72 and 69 to claim a share of 12th place on 213.
English Walker Cup player Conor Gough slipped back into a share of 30th with a closing 77 while his compatriot Joseph Pagdin withdrew after opening rounds of 74 and 78.
The event was won by fast-finishing American Jackson Van Paris, who made six birdies in a closing 67 to complete a two-shot victory ahead of compatriot Luke Potter on 9-under 207. In 2018, Van Paris became the youngest player since Bobby Jones to win a match at the US Amateur when as a 14-year-old he reached the last 32.
Scottish Golf was thrown into disarray with the announcement that two key members of its management team have resigned from their posts.
The double resignation came days before the organisation was due to hold its AGM in Stirling, although it subsequently was postponed due to the coronavirus.
Development director Ross Duncan joined Scotland Golf as marketing, media and sponsorship manager 16 years ago while Louise Burke has been head of operations for the past 18 months. Before that, she was head of finance and IT for 10 months.
“We can confirm that one member of staff left the organisation last week and a further member will be leaving this week,” Scottish Golf said in a statement to The Scotsman newspaper. “It would not be appropriate for us to comment at this time.”
It is understood the pair have resigned in connection with plans for further internal reorganisation.
Sweden’s Grant clinched her maiden US individual collegiate title at the Dr Donnis Thompson Invitational in Hawaii.
The Arizona State freshman put together rounds of 69, 69 and 71 and then beat TCU’s Sabrina Iqbal with a birdie on the fifth hole of a sudden-death play-off.
Grant’s 7-under aggregate of 209 plus a fifth-place finish from Spain’s Raquel Olmos and a tie for sixth from Italy’s Alessandra Fanali and Ireland’s Olivia Mehaffey helped Arizona State cruise to a 19-stroke win on 12-under 825.
“I’m really proud of the team,” said head coach, Missy-Farr-Kaye. “We played really well over the last two days. Linn persevered through the five-hole play-off. It was an awesome way to get her first win.”
Grant was one of three Swedes to record individual wins on what turned out to be the final week of the 2019-20 season.
San Francisco senior Tim Widing carded rounds of 70, 69 and 69 to complete a two-shot victory ahead of Arizona State’s Cameron Sisk in the Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic and claim the second individual title of his career.
“This was a fantastic week for us,” said head coach Jack Kennedy. “We came in very confident that we could compete with the best teams in the country. Tim was our leader again this week and it was very special to watch him come away with a win. This was one of the best victories in USF history.”
England’s Rhys Nevin-Warton (Tennessee) was tied for fifth in the same event, five shots behind Widing.
The other Swedish success came from Georgia Southwestern junior Vincent Norrman, who shot rounds of 67, 71 and 72 to complete a three-shot victory in the Southeastern Collegiate at the Kinderlou Forest Golf Club in Georgia. It was the third individual victory of his career and helped Southwestern to their fourth team win of the season.
Englishman Dan Bradbury (Lincoln Memorial) was tied for fifth, four shots behind Norrman while his compatriot Max O’Hagen (Florida Tech) was in the group in eighth place, one shot further back.
There was a near miss for Ireland’s Devin Morley in the Bash at the Beach at the Surf Golf and Beach Club in South Carolina. The Louisville senior from Galway fired back-to-back closing rounds of 67 to finish a single shot behind Argentina’s Segundo Oliva Pinto (University of North Carolina Wilmington) on 10-under-par 206. Morley was playing as an individual in the event.
Angela Jones has been installed as the new captain of the England senior women’s team.
The Kent Senior County player takes over from Debbie Richards, from Surrey, who stepped down from her post at the end of a successful 2019 season during which her team won the European Senior Women’s Team Championship in Belgium.
“It’s a real challenge for me to help the team maintain the high standards set under Debbie’s captaincy,” Jones admitted. “I’m starting from the position of: ‘If it isn’t broke, there’s no need to fix it.’
“But, of course, that does not stop you looking to make improvements. You can always look to find that one percent from somewhere, the critical non-essentials that you hear so many people speak about at the top level in sport.
“I love playing senior county golf for Kent and will continue to play as much as I can this season.
“I already know most of the women from competing against them over the years and playing this year will give me the chance to observe as many potential squad players as possible.”
E-MAIL COLIN