Lingering concerns with the border tied into COVID-19 have forced PGA Tour officials and organizers of the RBC Canadian Open to cancel the event for the second straight year.
The event, which was established in 1904, is currently the third-oldest national championship in golf behind The Open Championship and the U.S. Open.
“Even with an extensive health and safety plan in place, we faced a number of significant logistical challenges that led us to this decision,” said PGA Tour President Tyler Dennis. “While we are disappointed to cancel Canada’s National Championship, we are thankful to our partners RBC and Golf Canada – along with our Canadian fans — for their unwavering support and cooperation throughout this process. We look forward to the RBC Canadian Open returning to our schedule next year.”
The most recent Canadian Open was held in 2019 at Hamilton Golf & Country Club in Ontario, when Rory McIlroy won in his debut there. This year’s event had been scheduled for June 7-12 at St. George’s Golf & Country Club in the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke.
While organizers of the event were working on a comprehensive plan to revive the event for this year, current quarantine restrictions and other logistical issues made the tournament’s completion uncertain.
“Together with RBC and the PGA Tour, we set a decision timeline based on the most up-to-date travel and quarantine restrictions in effect along with consideration for the Tour’s ability to pivot and successfully fill a significant date on the schedule,” said Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum. “It was also important to be respectful partners to the health leaders and government officials who have helped inform our operation protocols and provided great direction on this journey. The timing simply did not align for us and we are deeply disappointed that the celebrated return of the RBC Canadian Open will have to wait another year.”
The PGA Tour will host a separate FedEx Cup-official event for this year, the details of which are expected in a few weeks.