The Latest on the effects of the new coronavirus outbreak on sports
around the world:
The Senior PGA Championship in Michigan has been canceled.
The PGA of America says it based its decision on Michigan’s
stay-at-home order that was enacted March 23.
The Senior PGA in Benton Harbor, Michigan, was to be played May
21-24. It will be held next year at Southern Hills in Tulsa,
Oklahoma. It will return to Benton Harbor the following year.
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World Athletics says it won’t clear any Russian athletes to compete
internationally amid the shutdown caused by the coronavirus
pandemic.
The governing body of track requires Russians to apply for
“authorized neutral athlete” status each year to compete outside
their home country. Russia has been suspended from World Athletics
since 2015 for widespread doping.
World Athletics spokeswoman Nicole Jeffery says in e-mailed
comments that “the ANA system only applies to international
competition, so until there is competition there is no need for any
athlete to apply.”
She adds that “for the next two months, at least, there is no
competition, so the system does not need to be active until we know
when the competition schedule can resume.”
World Athletics hasn’t decided how far in advance to open
applications once competitions resume. High jump world champion
Mariya Lasitskene and pole vault world champion Anzhelika Sidorova
are among those who need their status renewed from last year.
—
British Open organizers say postponement is an option for this
year’s tournament at Royal St. George’s because of the coronavirus
outbreak.
The R&A released a short statement in response to media speculation
about the staging of the event in July. Chief executive Martin
Slumbers says the “process is taking some time to resolve” because
of a range of external factors.
Slumbers says “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.”
The 149th edition of the Open Championship is scheduled to take
place July 16-19. The last time the Open wasn’t played was in 1945
because of World War II.
—
The French Grand Prix scheduled for May 17 in Le Mans has been
postponed, becoming the sixth MotoGP race to be called off because
of the coronavirus outbreak.
The motorcycling series has yet to start its season.
The season-opener in Qatar was canceled, the Thailand, Americas and
Argentina races were postponed to October-November, and the Spanish
MotoGP has yet to find new dates.
The next race at risk is the Italian MotoGP on May 31.
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World Sailing has canceled the World Cup Series Final in Enoshima,
Japan, in June because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The regatta was to give valuable competition for the Olympic
classes just over a month before the start of the Tokyo Games.
The Olympics have been postponed to 2021.
World Sailing and Japanese officials were in talks to return to
Enoshima in 2021 before the rescheduled Olympics.
—
Brescia president Massimo Cellino says he will forfeit his team’s
remaining Serie A matches if the Italian soccer league resumes.
Brescia is the third-worst hit province in Italy with more than
8,500 coronavirus cases and more than 1,300 deaths.
In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Cellino says “this
season doesn’t make sense anymore.”
He says “returning to activity is pure craziness. If they force us
to I am ready to not put out the team and lose the matches 3-0 by
default out of respect for the citizens of Brescia and their loved
ones who aren’t here anymore.”
Brescia is in last place in the league standings. The president of
Lazio recently accused Cellino of trying to avoid relegation.
Cellino says “I don’t care at all about relegation. So far we have
deserved it and I have my blame in that, too.”
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Potential hosts of soccer’s 2027 Asian Cup have been given more
time to enter the contest by the Asian Football Confederation.
The AFC says the March deadline to show interest was extended by
three months to June because many of its member federations have
been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Saudi Arabian soccer body said in February it wanted to host
the 24-team tournament.
China will host the 2023 edition. A return to western Asia is
possible after the United Arab Emirates staged the 2019 tournament.
The AFC is planning for a 2027 tournament but a FIFA task force
drafting a future calendar of matches and tournaments will likely
be asked to align continental championships. The European
Championship and South America’s Copa America are on track to kick
off in June 2028.
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More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and
https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
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