Slumbers on R&A Hosting The Women's Open This Week

A question I’ve seen asked a fair amount with this week’s AIG Women’s Open and two men’s majors to go: why didn’t they reschedule The Open for the fall?

Given that events are proceeding without horrible travel restrictions and other constraints, it’s a fair question. But the R&A had pandemic insurance and there was this, in Ewan Murray’s Guardian story quoting Chief Executive Martin Slumbers suggests the R&A only recently saw an opportunity to play this week at Royal Troon:

“But if I’m really honest, it was probably only a month or so ago that we were really comfortable that we could get this away. It has been an enormous effort by an enormous number of people, and our thanks go to not just our partners but the government both in Westminster and Scotland who have been tireless in helping us try and make a statement of putting this championship on.”