By Kent Gray
The Dubai Duty Free-sponsored Irish Open is the latest victim of the Coronavirus as the global pandemic continues to wreak havoc with the European Tour’s Race to Dubai schedule.

The $7 million event, scheduled to be hosted by Mount Juliet Estate & Golf Club in Kilkenny from May 28-31, was postponed on Monday. It is the first Rolex Series event of 2020 delayed but follows the postponement or cancellation of 10 other events on the European Tour schedule in a span stretching from mid-March to the end of May.

“The decision to postpone the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open follows consultation with all stakeholders and was made with public health and well-being as our absolute priority,” said European Tour Chief Executive Keith Pelley. “Our thoughts are with everyone right now and we are all united in trying to fight the spread of the pandemic.

“With this in mind, we will continue to evaluate all aspects of our 2020 European Tour schedule, and discussions on the rescheduling of postponed events will remain ongoing until we have clarity on the global situation.”

It is clear the 2020 Race to Dubai, which is due to conclude with the $8 million DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai from Nov. 19-22, now needs serious re-working if it can be saved at all.

The other European Tour events postponed or cancelled are the Magical Kenya Open, the Hero Indian Open, the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play (cancelled), The Masters, the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur, the Volvo China Open, Sergio Garcia’s Andalucia Masters, the GolfSixes Cascais (cancelled), the PGA Championship and the Made in Denmark.

The European Tour stopped ticket sales and hospitality packages until further notice in mid-March.

The next Race to Dubai event set to go is the Trophee Hassan II in Morocco. The normally second-tier event in Rabat from June 4-7 is just two weeks before the U.S. Open at Harding Park in San Francisco which is also in severe doubt given the growing COVID-19 death toll sweeping across the U.S.

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Colm McLoughlin, Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman & CEO, said the decision to postpone the Irish Open was simple. An alternative date has not been released.

“We fully support the European Tour in their decision to postpone the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open. The most important thing right now is the health and safety of all the players, the spectators, the sponsors and organisers, so it’s the right decision,” said McLoughlin.

Graeme McDowell, tournament host, said: “As important as the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open is to all of us, everyone’s health is our only concern. My thoughts are with everyone affected by the crisis and I hope everyone keeps safe and well during these difficult times.”

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