European Tour confirms resumption plan which includes six UK events this summer

The Tour has been suspended since March following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, and there had been concerns that it might remain that way until September - or perhaps later still.

But on Thursday, reports suggesting a UK-based resumption were confirmed with the British Masters kicking things off on Wednesday July 22, eight days earlier than had been scheduled.

That's followed by the English Open, the English Championship, the Celtic Classic, the Wales Open and the UK Championship, five events which were not on the original schedule for 2020.

With each event following right on the heels of the previous one, that's a run of six tournaments in six weeks, with details on the remainder of the season to follow. All six will take place without spectators, but will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.

While the UK events mentioned do not take in Scotland, it was also confirmed that the Scottish Open will take place from October 8-11, one week before the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

The season will conclude on Sunday December 13 with the DP World Tour Championship as the Tour also confirmed dates for four of its flagship Rolex Series tournaments.

Notably, however, there is not as yet a new date for the Irish Open, another of the Rolex Series tournaments and one which had been due to take place in May.

European Tour: Confirmed dates

• July 22-25 - British Masters
  Close House, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
• July 30-August 2 - English Open
  Forest of Arden, Birmingham, England
• August 6-9 - English Championship
  Hanbury Manor, Hertfordshire, England
• August 13-16 - Celtic Classic
  Celtic Manor, Newport, Wales
• August 20-23 - Wales Open
  Celtic Manor, Newport, Wales
• August 27-30 - UK Championship
  The Belfy, Sutton Coldfield, England
• October 8-11 - Scottish Open
  The Renaissance Club, Aberdeen, Scotland
• October 15-18 - BMW PGA Championship
  Wentworth, Virginia Water, England
• December 3-6 - Nedbank Golf Challenge
  Gary Player GC, Sun City, South Africa
• December 10-13 - DP World Tour Championship
  Jumeirah Golf, Dubai, UAE

Keith Pelley, European Tour chief executive, said: "Since the suspension of our 2020 season in early March, we have taken a measured approach in reassessing our schedule, informed every step of the way by our medical advisers and government guidance.

"We have consistently said that safety is our absolute priority and that is why today we are announcing our resumption in two months’ time supported by a comprehensive health strategy which has been led by our medical team.

"Without question we have had to think differently about the remainder of our 2020 season which is reflected in today’s announcement. As golf’s global Tour, diversity is ordinarily one of our biggest strengths, but in this instance it has become one of our biggest challenges.

"Initially, therefore, based on the expert guidance we received, playing in clusters, in one territory, is the best option in terms of testing, travel and accommodation.

"I would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank Betfred, Close House, Marriott, The Forest of Arden, Hanbury Manor, The Celtic Manor Resort and The Belfry for sharing our vision for this ‘UK Swing’ and we look forward to returning to tournament play in July with this innovative stretch of six events."

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