Ryder Cup Postponed to 2021, President's Cup Moved to 2022 Due to Uncertainty About Fans, COVID-19
While the PGA Tour returned to action last month, it’s been an up and down road over that span. We’ve seen some terrific golf along the way but there was the withdrawal of Webb Simpson and Brooks Koepka before the Travelers Championship, taking two top-five players out of the field for that tournament. There also has been quite a few European players that have eschewed making the trip because of the quarantine restrictions in play for individuals coming to and from the United States.
On Tuesday, the decision to cancel one of the biggest events in golf came down, though it was long considered the viable choice. The PGA of America made the announcement that the Ryder Cup, scheduled to take place at Whistling Straits in Sheboygan, Wisconsin from September 25 through September 27, was postponed. It will be contested in 2021 from September 21 through 26 at the same course instead. As a result, the President’s Cup, which was scheduled to take place in 2021 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, has been moved as well. It will now take place September 19 through 25, 2022 at the same course.
Seth Walsh, the CEO of the PGA of America, explained the reasoning for the cancellation of the event and subsequent rescheduling.
"Unlike other major sporting events that are played in existing stadiums, we had to make a decision now about building facilities to host the 2020 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits. It became clear that as of today, our medical experts and the public authorities in Wisconsin could not give us certainty that conducting an event responsibly with thousands of spectators in September would be possible. Given that uncertainty, we knew rescheduling was the right call. ...
"As disappointing as this is, our mandate to do all we can to safeguard public health is what matters most. The spectators who support both the U.S. and European sides are what make the Ryder Cup such a unique and compelling event and playing without them was not a realistic option. ... We look forward to delivering the Ryder Cup's renowned pageantry, emotion and competitive drama to a global audience in 2021."
Obviously, one of the biggest concerns was holding such a major event of the sport without fans in attendance. The Ryder Cup tends to draw massive crowds as the top players in the world square off in an effort to bring bragging rights for their respective teams back home with them. Most golfers that were interviewed about playing the Ryder Cup without fans in attendance rejected the concept, with some considering an event held in that fashion “ridiculous.” Even Rory McIlroy, the top-ranked player in the world and one who gets plenty of vitriol from the fans when the Ryder Cup is held on American soil, acknowledged that fact earlier this year.
"[It's] not a Ryder Cup [without fans]. That's from a European, going to America, knowing that I'm going to get abuse. Obviously, it would be better for Europeans to play without fans because we wouldn't deal with some of the stuff that you have to put up with, but at the same time, it wouldn't be a great spectacle. There would be no atmosphere. So if it came to whether they had to choose between not playing the Ryder Cup of playing it without fans, I would say just delay it a year."
It marks the first time that the Ryder Cup was postponed since 2001, when the September 11 attacks led to the postponement. The Ryder Cup that year was scheduled to be played at The Belfry in England later in September but it was pushed back to 2002. That year, the teams remained the same despite the delay and it could be a similar situation this time around as well. The 2023 Ryder Cup will take place in Rome before returning to the United States in 2025 when it takes place at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York.
It became abundantly clear, especially with the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the United States, that it was going to be a challenge to predict how things could be two-plus months from now. The events that the PGA Tour has held so far hasn’t had fans in attendance. While that is a minor issue on a regular tour stop that isn’t a major, when you get to one of the crown jewel events of the entire tour, having a crowd to ooh and ahh over brilliant shots and terrific sand saves is as much a part of the event as the players themselves. Moving the event back a year had to be a tough blow for both sides from the pride standpoint, not to mention the financial implications involved. In the end, though, for it to have the true feel of a Ryder Cup, it was the right one. Sometimes the toughest decisions to make are the right ones and that was the situation here.