The 2020 Open Championship could be postponed and take place at Royal St George’s later in the year under plans being mapped out.

The Masters and USPGA Championship have already been postponed from their April and May dates due to the ongoing threat of coronavirus.

The US Open remains under threat with the coronavirus outbreak continuing to have a major impact on golf and the sporting world.

The European Tour have taken the decision to postpone the Irish Open, scheduled for May 28-31, and could slip it into the calendar later in the year.

The same fate could await the 149th Open Championship, despite the R&A, having initially not ruled out the famous major going ahead on July 16 with Shane Lowry defending the claret jug after winning the 2019 Open at Royal Portrush.

Now, however, R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers revealed postponement is an option and said: “We are continuing to work through our options for The Open this year, including postponement.

“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.

“We will give a further update as soon as we are in a position to do so and thank everyone for their support and understanding in this challenging situation.”

The US Open also remains under threat although a decision hasn’t yet been made about the future of the event at Winged Foot from June 18-21.

The 2020 Ryder Cup, which will take place at Whistling Straits in September, is also going ahead as scheduled as things stand.

The Masters, meanwhile, could be staged at Augusta in October in a bid to save the major, and an autumn date could also await for the 2020 Open Championship too.

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