European Tour reschedules Andalucía and Portugal Masters

Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course in Vilamoura

The Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters and the Portugal Masters have been rescheduled for September, forming the next part of the reshaped 2020 Race to Dubai.

Originally scheduled to tee off on April 30, the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters will take place at the iconic Real Club Valderrama from September 3-6 and will be immediately followed by the Portugal Masters.

The event at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course, from September 10-13, was initially scheduled for October prior to the suspension of the season due to the global Coronavirus pandemic.

The European Tour returns this week with two dual-ranking events in Austria – the Austrian Open and Euram Bank Open. The six-event UK Swing is next before the action moves to Spain and Portugal, continuing the strategy of playing in regional clusters.

Both tournaments will be governed by the Tour’s comprehensive Health Strategy, which has been developed by Chief Medical Officer Dr Andrew Murray in consultation with health care specialists Cignpost and advisors in many of the 30 countries in which the European Tour plays.

They will also be underpinned by the European Tour’s new ‘Golf for Good’ initiative which aims to support communities where the European Tour plays, reward true heroes, such as frontline workers, and promote the many health benefits that golf offers.

If the Ryder Cup is postponed until 2021, as expected, it would free up the last week in September and give the European Tour the option to stage the postponed Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Mount Juliet from September 24-27.

If the Rolex Series event, originally scheduled for the end of May, gets the green light, it remains to be seen how strong the field will be.

Likely to be played behind closed doors or with limited fans for a limited prize fund, the 14-day quarantine required by visitors to Ireland would—bar a government exemption—rule out anyone who plays in the US Open the previous week.

That would deny the event the presence of host Graeme McDowell, Open champion Shane Lowry and world No 1 Rory McIlroy.