Exclusive: English Open to return to European Tour for first time since 2002

The English Open is set to be resurrected by the European Tour as part of the five-week summer British swing that will herald the beleaguered circuit’s return after a four-month absence.

The Tour will announce a partial schedule on Thursday as chief executive Keith Pelley claws back the 2020 schedule after seeing 30 tournaments cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

The continuing travel restrictions inspired Pelley and his staff into a frantic race to stage a succession of back-to-back events in England and Wales, which they hope will persuade overseas members that the UK’s present two-week quarantine period is worth it.

The behind-closed-doors run will tee-off at the £2 million Betfred British Masters at Close House, Newcastle, on Wednseday, July 23 before moving south to the Forest of Arden near Birmingham, then to Hanbury Manor in Hertfordshire, before concluding with an unprecedented two-tournament fortnight at Celtic Manor, the Gwent venue which staged the 2010 Ryder Cup.

It is believed that one of those will be classified as the Wales Open, a tournament that has not been held for six years.

However, it is the English Open at Forest of Arden that will surely create most nostalgia among golf fans. The last time it was contested was at the Warwickshire layout in 2002, when Darren Clarke won his third English Open title in four years.

The prize fund that year was more than £2 million; this time the purse is believed to be “only” £1 million, the same as the other ‘emergency” events and this perhaps highlights the current plight of the European Tour more starkly than any other factor. 

In short, the Tour simply must give playing opportunities to its members as well as providing tournaments to fulfil its TV contracts with Sky Sports and the Golf Channel in the US.

There can be no doubting the rich heritage of the English Open. Other past-winners include Lee Westwood, Colin Montgomerie and Ian Woosnam. There were attempts to revive the tournament in 2011, but a lack of funds meant the cancellation of the planned comeback at St Mellion in Cornwall. This will probably amount to a very temporary reprieve, but it will be much-welcomed.

It will be intriguing to see how far Pelley is along the road in filling the global gaps on his devastated calendar. It is understood that concerning voids remain in September and November, with the BMW PGA Championship set to take place in October, along with the Scottish Open at The Renaissance in East Lothian and, maybe, the Irish Open at Mount Juliet, Kilkenny as well.

As has become tradition, Dubai is inked in for the season-finale DP World Tour Championship, but this will not take place until December as the Tour attempts to maximise the possibilities.