JOHANNESBURG - 'Africa's Major' the Nedbank Golf Challenge (NGC) has been rescheduled to be held from December 3 to 6, the European Tour announced on Thursday.
The tournament, which will be host at the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City, moves one month from its usual place on the calendar in early November.
The NGC is the penultimate tournament in the Rolex Series, with the season-ending World Tour Championship, Dubai, now due to take place from December 10-13 at Jumeirah Golf Estates, where the 2020 Race to Dubai Champion will be crowned.
Following the suspension of the season on March 8 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the European Tour will return to action initially behind closed doors in July and run through until December.
All tournaments will be subject to stringent safety and testing protocols set out in the tour’s comprehensive Health Strategy which will continue to evolve, aligned with international government guidance and health guidelines.
The first tournament in the ‘UK Swing’ is the Betfred British Masters hosted by Lee Westwood, which will be played at Close House, near Newcastle in the north east of England, from Wednesday July 22 to Saturday July 25 – a week earlier than originally scheduled.
It will be followed by the English Open at the Marriott Forest of Arden and the English Championship at Marriott Hanbury Manor, before The Celtic Manor Resort in Newport hosts back-to-back European Tour tournaments – the Celtic Classic and the Wales Open.
It is a timely return to the south Wales resort as this year also marks the tenth anniversary of Europe’s dramatic victory against the United States in The 2010 Ryder Cup at the same venue.
The UK Swing will then conclude with the UK Championship at The Belfry, another venue rich in Ryder Cup history, having played host to four contests with Europe triumphing in two (1985 and 2002), the US having won in 1993, with the 1989 match ending in a 14-14 tie.
Details of subsequent tournaments on the European Tour from September through to November will be announced in due course, with a variety of scheduling options currently under consideration as the global situation continues to evolve.
However, rescheduled dates have been announced for four Rolex Series events; the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club which now takes place from October 8-11 and the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club which moves to the following week, October 15-18.