UH-OH! Ominous news for the US Open…

First, it was the Masters. Then, the US PGA Championship. Now, could the US Open become the latest men’s major championship to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic?

If the latest developments at this year’s host venue are anything to go by, you should absolutely brace yourself for that happening. 

Winged Foot Golf Club, which is due to host the US Open for the sixth time from June 18-21, has been instructed to close its doors “indefinitely”.

An executive order by New York governor Andrew Cuomo requires non-essential businesses to close from Sunday evening. This, in turn, will bring a halt to preparations for this year’s championship at Winged Foot, located just five miles from a coronavirus “containment zone” set up in New Rochelle.

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Despite the news, organisers remain hopeful that the event will go ahead as scheduled, but will make a final decision on it in the middle of April.

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In a statement, the USGA said: “We continue to hold the dates for the US Open at Winged Foot in June and monitor all available guidance and regulations from the CDC, WHO and other federal, state and local authorities to do what is in the best interests of the community for the health and safety of all those involved.

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“We had previously stopped the build of our corporate hospitality tents and are creating contingency plans should we need to pivot, given that postponement is a possibility. It is premature at this point to speculate on any potential date or location changes, but we expect to make a decision sometime in the middle of April.”

All tournaments on the PGA Tour and European Tour have been either suspended or cancelled until May 21 at the very earliest.