Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y., which is scheduled to host the 120th United States Open in June, has been closed because of the Coronavirus pandemic, leaving the status of our national championship in question.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive order resulted in the indefinite closure of the club, which makes tournament organizers unable to proceed with the build-out of the major championship site.
The United States Golf Association said it will make an announcement in mid-April concerning the status of the U.S. Open, in which Gary Woodland hopes to defend his first major title.
“We continue to hold the dates for the U.S. Open at Winged Foot in June and monitor all available guidance and regulations from the CDC, WHO and other federal, state and local authorities to do what is in the best interests of the community for the health and safety of all those involved,” the USGA said in a statement.
“We had previously stopped the build of our corporate hospitality tents and are creating contingency plans should we need to pivot, given that postponement is a possibility. It is premature at this point to speculate on any potential date or location changes, but we expect to make a decision sometime in the middle of April.”
USGA staffers who were at Winged Foot making preparations for the U.S. Open are sheltering in place under Cuomo’s order at various locations in Westchester County, according to the Journal News.
The Masters and PGA Championship, the first two men’s golf majors of the year, have already been postponed, and the PGA Tour has canceled eight tournaments.
There has been speculation that the PGA Championship could be moved to dates late in July that have been vacated by the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games, with the Masters possibly being moved to October.
The Open Championship at Royal St. George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, England, still is scheduled for July 16-19.
The last year in which the U.S. Open was not played was in 1945, due to World War II.
