R&A cancels 149th Open Championship

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The R&A canceled the 149th Open Championship on Monday, the organization announced.

"We care deeply about this historic championship and have made this decision with a heavy heart," R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said. "We appreciate that this will be disappointing for a great many people around the world but this pandemic is severely affecting the UK and we have to act responsibly. It is the right thing to do."

Royal St. George's Golf Club will host the event from July 15 to 18 in 2021. St Andrews will remain the venue for the 150th edition in 2022.

The event becomes the first men's major championship to be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Masters, U.S. Open, and PGA Championship all found new dates in 2020 as part of the PGA Tour's revised schedule.

The Open was expected to be canceled last week but the R&A denied the report and said it was still evaluating options, including potentially postponing the event. The tournament reportedly has an insurance policy that protects against global pandemics and needed to be canceled before a certain date in order to collect on said insurance.

This is the first time since 1945 that the Open Championship is canceled, with that coming due to World War II.