THE OPEN and the Ryder Cup could be played back-to-back in September.
Shane Lowry was set to defend the Claret Jug at Royal St George’s from July 16-19.
But with the coronavirus crisis showing no signs of stopping, the plan now is to move The Open to September 17-20.
That would see it slot in between the PGA BMW Championship at Wentworth and the Ryder Cup duel with the USA at Whistling Straits, Wisconsin.
Such a move could provide a huge boost for the European Tour’s flagship event, with many top American stars deciding to play at Wentworth before heading down to Sandwich.
Golf chiefs are determined to thrash out a revised schedule for the end of the year that would preserve all four Majors AND the Ryder Cup.
They have held a series of transatlantic teleconferences and without admitting it publicly, they accept The Open and June’s US Open will have to follow The Masters and USPGA Championship in being postponed.
Masters officials were originally looking at October 8-11 as an alternative date but would be prepared to move to November 12-15, thereby allowing more flexibility for the other Majors.
Playing conditions are still near-perfect at Augusta in November and with the smallest field of any Major — fewer than 100 players — getting them around with less daylight would be no problem.
The US Open, currently slated for June 18-21 at Winged Foot Golf Club in New York, could slot into that October date, just two weeks after the Ryder Cup.
But that would likely mean it having to switch to the west coast of the USA, with iconic California venues Pebble Beach and Torrey Pines already on standby.
The proposed new date for the USPGA at TPC Harding Park, San Francisco, is August 6-9 — leading straight into the PGA Tour’s megabucks FedEx Cup play-offs.
US Open official Craig Annis confirmed there was a lot of horse-trading going on behind the scenes over new dates.
He said: “At this point we are not in a position to confirm any specific dates.
“While we are hopeful that we will be able to conduct the US Open at Winged Foot Golf Club in June, it is increasingly likely that we will need to postpone.
“Depending on how far out we might have to go it could mean a new location.”
The Women’s US Open was yesterday moved from the first week of June to December 10-13.
