Hampshire golf season savaged by coronavirus – but county championship event still on at present in early June

Hayling Island's Toby Burden. Picture by Andrew Griffin. | Freelance

HAMPSHIRE Golf has joined the growing number of grassroots sports to cancel the early part of its season because of the coronavirus outbreak – with a longer suspension still likely.

All fixtures and training sessions for the county’s elite men’s, senior and junior teams had already been suspended immediately last week until the beginning of May – before England Golf advised all clubs to close in the wake of the lockdown announced on Monday night.

And Hampshire Golf secretary David Wheeler warned the county golf union was prepared to push the start of the season back further beyond May 1 – if the Government’s restrictions continue beyond the three weeks outlined by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Mr Wheeler said: ‘Hampshire Golf has cancelled all its competitions, matches and training sessions until May 1.

‘This date may be extended into June and July depending on how the coronavirus pandemic evolves.’

The biggest casualty so far is next month’s Selborne Salver at Blackmoor GC, and Hockley’s Delhi Cup – the first

Hampshire Order of Merit event of 2020, which was scheduled for May 16.

The Salver – the second major event on the English amateur calendar – has been cancelled, along with the Hampshire Hog at North Hants GC, 24 hours later.

Both events were due to take place on April 18 and 19 – with the two 36-hole strokeplay events combining for the

Hampshire Salver, which attracts World Amateur Golf Ranking points.

The 72-hole Berkhamsted Trophy, in Hertfordshire, is also being moved to the autumn from early April, while

Lancashire’s Lytham Trophy, in early May, has also been cancelled.

England Golf has already cancelled May’s Brabazon Trophy and the English Seniors Amateur Championship in

early June.

At present, the 2020 Hampshire Isle of Wight and Channel Islands Amateur Championship – set for the first weekend in June at North Hants – is still pencilled in to take place. Toby Burden won the silverware in 2019.

But Hampshire’s two inter-club knockout events – the men’s County Sevens and the Royal Green Jackets for juniors – are early casualties of the lockdown.

The early rounds were due to start in late March and April, meaning there was not enough time to complete the regional knockout rounds before the finals – due to be held at Waterlooville GC, in late September.

Army GC claimed the 2019 Sevens title, beating Lee-on-the-Solent last October to equaal Rowlands Castle’s record of six wins in the competition which dates back to 1966.