Shane Lowry won the British Open last summer, but he may not get a chance to defend the title as organizers ponder a postponement. Peter Morrison/Associated Press
British Open organizers say postponement is an option for this year’s tournament at Royal St. George’s because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The R&A released a short statement in response to media speculation about the staging of the event in July. Chief executive Martin Slumbers says the “process is taking some time to resolve” because of a range of external factors.
Slumbers says “we are well aware of the importance of being able to give clear guidance to fans, players and everyone involved and are working to resolve this as soon as we can.”
The 149th edition of the Open Championship is scheduled to take place July 16-19. The last time the Open wasn’t played was in 1945 because of World War II.
IOWA STATE coaches and other athletic department staff members are getting pay cuts for one year to help offset lost revenue from the coronavirus pandemic.
Athletic director Jaime Pollard wrote on the Cyclones’ website that his department faces a $5 million shortfall this year because of the cancellation of the NCAA and Big 12 men’s basketball tournaments.
The payroll cut will save more than $3 million. There also will be a temporary suspension of bonuses for coaches totaling another $1 million.
Previously announced increases in Cyclone Club annual giving levels have been delayed, prices for season and individual game ticket prices have been frozen for all sports and the deadline for booster club donations and football season ticket renewals has been extended to May 29.
THE BELGIAN soccer league has become the first major European competition to recommend ending its season with the current standings declared final because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The league says Club Brugge would be awarded the title if the advice is confirmed at a general assembly meeting on April 15. Brugge would also qualify for next season’s Champions League. Brugge is currently 15 points ahead of second-place Gent with one game to go before the season-ending playoffs.
The league management board has agreed it is unclear when team training could resume and says it is “very unlikely” any games with fans attending could be played before June 30.
The league says even games in empty stadiums would put stress on public health and security services dealing with the pandemic. It agreed the risk of infecting players would also damage the competition’s integrity.
THE SENIOR PGA Championship in Michigan has been canceled.
The PGA of America says it based its decision on Michigan’s stay-at-home order that was enacted March 23.
The event was to be played May 21-24. It will be held next year at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It will return to Benton Harbor the following year.
BRESCIA PRESIDENT Massimo Cellino says he will forfeit his team’s remaining Serie A matches if the Italian soccer league resumes.
Brescia is the third-worst hit province in Italy with more than 8,500 coronavirus cases and more than 1,300 deaths. In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Cellino says “this season doesn’t make sense anymore.”
He says “returning to activity is pure craziness. If they force us to I am ready to not put out the team and lose the matches 3-0 by default out of respect for the citizens of Brescia and their loved ones who aren’t here anymore.”
Brescia is in last place in the league standings. The president of Lazio recently accused Cellino of trying to avoid relegation.
Cellino says “I don’t care at all about relegation. So far we have deserved it and I have my blame in that, too.”
WORLD ATHLETICS says it won’t clear any Russian athletes to compete internationally amid the shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The governing body of track requires Russians to apply for “authorized neutral athlete” status each year to compete outside their home country. Russia has been suspended from World Athletics since 2015 for widespread doping.
World Athletics spokeswoman Nicole Jeffery says in e-mailed comments that “the ANA system only applies to international competition, so until there is competition there is no need for any athlete to apply.”
She adds that “for the next two months, at least, there is no competition, so the system does not need to be active until we know when the competition schedule can resume.”
World Athletics hasn’t decided how far in advance to open applications once competitions resume. High jump world champion Mariya Lasitskene and pole vault world champion Anzhelika Sidorova are among those who need their status renewed from last year.
THE FRENCH Grand Prix scheduled for May 17 in Le Mans has been postponed, becoming the sixth MotoGP race to be called off because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The motorcycling series has yet to start its season.
The season-opener in Qatar was canceled, the Thailand, Americas and Argentina races were postponed to October-November, and the Spanish MotoGP has yet to find new dates.
The next race at risk is the Italian MotoGP on May 31.
WORLD SAILING has canceled the World Cup Series Final in Enoshima, Japan, in June because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The regatta was to give valuable competition for the Olympic classes just over a month before the start of the Tokyo Games, which have been postponed to 2021.
World Sailing and Japanese officials were in talks to return to Enoshima in 2021 before the rescheduled Olympics.
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