The 149th Open Championship cancelled but will remain at Royal St George's in 2021

Organisers have cancelled the event, which was due to take place at Royal St George's from July 12-19, following talks with the Government, health authorities and public services.

The Kent course will host the competition next year instead - from July 11-18 - with St Andrews still hosting the 150th Open, but a year later than scheduled in 2022.

R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said: "Our absolute priority is to protect the health and safety of the fans, players, officials, volunteers and staff involved in the Open. We care deeply about this historic championship and have made this decision with a heavy heart.

"We appreciate that this will be disappointing for a great many people around the world but we have to act responsibly during this pandemic and it is the right thing to do.

"I can assure everyone that we have explored every option for playing The Open this year but it is not going to be possible.

"There are many different considerations that go into organising a major sporting event of this scale. We rely on the support of the emergency services, local authorities and a range of other organisations to stage the Championship and it would be unreasonable to place any additional demands on them when they have far more urgent priorities to deal with.

"In recent weeks we have been working closely with those organisations as well as Royal St George's, St Andrews Links Trust and the other golf bodies to resolve the remaining external factors and have done so as soon as we possibly could. We are grateful to all of them for their assistance and co-operation throughout this process.

"Most of all I would like to thank our fans around the world and all of our partners for their support and understanding. At a difficult time like this we have to recognise that sport must stand aside to let people focus on keeping themselves and their families healthy and safe.

"We are committed to supporting our community in the weeks and months ahead and will do everything in our power to help golf come through this crisis."

The R&A says this year's remaining professional and amateur championships are under review.

Ben Coley's comment...

Monday brought confirmation that, as first reported last week, the Open Championship will not be taking place in July, and that there will not be an Open Championship this year.

The R&A chose to use the word cancelled, which seemed a little odd, but may have something to do with a valuable insurance package noted by Golf Digest in those reports.

Ultimately, the Championship has been postponed, and it's to the credit of all involved that nothing else changes: it will take place at Royal St George's, with St Andrews still able to host the 150th edition a year later than planned. Ticket holders for 2020 can choose between a refund, or keeping hold of their tickets.

This is fair to fans and it's fair to Royal St George's; it will have limited impact on St Andrew's; and it maintains the traditions and qualities of the event to their fullest. There had been talk of a September or October move, but that would have meant a smaller field, a two-tee start, and a very different feeling.

Instead, the R&A have come to the mature decision. The impact of the coronavirus has been colossal, including on sport. In such circumstances, difficult choices have to be made. In this case, there really was only one: where to play the 2021 Open Championship. While some have criticised the R&A for the time it has taken them to do so, we can now say that they've come to the correct answer.