World events occasionally disrupt sporting events, and the 2020 World Amateur Team Championship is just the latest example of that. The International Golf Federation-sponsored event, which takes place every two years, was slated to be played Oct. 12-24 in Hong Kong. Earlier this month, the IGF announced that the event will be relocated to Singapore “to alleviate any concerns about the potential impact of the protests that have taken place in Hong Kong in recent months.”
The Singapore Golf Association (SGA) will host both championships at Tanah Merah Country Club and Sentosa Golf Club on the same dates as planned, with the Espirito Santo Trophy for women scheduled from October 14-17 and the Eisenhower Trophy for men from October 21-24.
In a statement, IGF executive director Antony Scanlon said the IGF Board felt that relocating the championships was in the event’s best interests, even as the Hong Kong Golf Association was willing to honor its hosting duties.
“We appreciate the SGA’s willingness to host the Championships and its efforts in securing government and local support to enable this to happen on the same dates as scheduled,” Scanlon said in the release. “At the same time, we want to acknowledge and thank the HKGA for all the work it did and its understanding for the decision that we have made. We look forward to the opportunity to hold the Team Championships in Hong Kong at a future date and will be inviting the HKGA to submit a proposal for staging the 2024 edition.”
Sentosa Golf Club hosts the HSBC Women’s World Championship, one of three LPGA events that were canceled this winter due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak in the region.
It remains possible, of course, that the coronavirus could affect this championship, as well.
The USGA has announced captains for the American teams. Diana Murphy, a past USGA president, and Pam Murray, a former chair of the USGA Women’s Committee, will captain both the men’s and women’s teams, respectively.
The U.S. women will be looking to defend the title won in 2018 in Ireland. Denmark won the men’s team title that year.
