County help Clubs with fixture congestion

Northampton Golf Ltd has decided to cancel a host of county events during the 2020 season to provide some more fixture clarity during the coronavirus outbreak.

Although golfers are now back out on the courses after the lockdown was lifted last month, the county have decided to help the local clubs by not forcing additional NGL dates onto their packed schedule.

The 2020 Men’s Order of Merit, knockout tournaments and all the leagues have been cancelled, including the Hollingsworth Trophy, which had already started in the spring.

In the Ladies section, the Intermediate and Bronze County Championships, the Goodyear Cup and the Girls Four Counties Championship will not be played until 2021. Decisions on the Stableford Cup, NGL Open and Ladies Fourball Am-Am have yet to be made.

Not everything has been wiped off the calendar however, with the County Boys and Girls Championship set to take place at Northampton on Monday, August 17th, while the Men’s and Ladies County Championships could be re-scheduled.

The NGL board said: “In these uncertain times, we have decided to cancel some 2020 events due to the unavailability of new dates and the safety of the players and officials this year.

“All the other competitions are being reviewed as progress of playing golf is being monitored, and the changes and advice regarding social distancing are assessed. Course availabilities will be checked to see if any of these can be played this year.

“While time continues to pass, this is becoming more difficult due the clubs trying to rearrange their own fixture lists, and uncertainties around the COVID-19 virus. Updates will follow, but the most important thing is that everyone stays safe.”