A typically British affair – the British Masters won by England’s Eddie Pepperell, the weather, Justin Rose hosting, played at Walton Heath – is likely to fall off the European Tour schedule.
The tournament has no headline sponsor for 2019 which means Pepperell, now a two-time winner, is unlikely to get the chance of defending his title.
The event, which was not on the calendar between 2009 and 2014, is set to disappear once again despite a high-profile 2018 edition which was the culmination of Sky Sports four-year involvement.
Host Rose questioned it’s departure shortly after finishing up his duties on Sunday.
‘Dare I say it, there are so many events on the European Tour that shouldn’t be there, and these events with history are the ones that should be there,’ said Rose.
‘I wonder if we should be focusing on condensing things slightly, and stressing quality over quantity. It’s such a shame when we lose events like this one, and we’ve seen it far too often with the loss of other traditional events like the European Open.
‘These are the ones where the fans really come out in force in the UK and support them and they create the type of atmosphere which makes it such a pleasure for the players to compete.’
The problem is not confined to Britain with South Africa’s co-sanctioned schedule still to be confirmed by the European Tour.
There is a worryingly lack of clarity at this stage with no confirmation regarding the Joburg Open (December), the SA Open (January) and the Tshwane Open (March).
These events formed part of a healthy African swing which includes the Dunhill Links, back on this year’s calendar in mid-December following the renovation of Leopard Creek, the tri-sanctioned Mauritius Open and Africa’s Major, the Nedbank Golf Challenge, now part of Race to Dubai final series.
