AT&T Byron Nelson golf tournament in Dallas canceled
DALLAS - Coronavirus fears have forced the cancelation of another major sporting event – the AT&T Byron Nelson golf tournament.
The tournament was scheduled to begin on May 7 at Trinity Forest Golf Club in southeast Dallas and was to be the final year for the event at the Dallas course.
The Nelson cancellation was part of a wave of tournaments that were called off by the PGA Tour on Tuesday.
Two days after a federal recommendation to not hold events of 50 or more people for the next eight weeks, the PGA of America decided to postpone the second major of the year, which was set for May 14-17 at Harding Park in San Francisco. The PGA Championship will be rescheduled.
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Augusta National announced Friday that the Masters, scheduled for April 9-12, also would be played at a later day.
"We're all working hard to get a date that makes sense for the championship and hopefully for Harding Park," Seth Waugh, CEO of the PGA of America, said in a telephone interview. "Our intent is to hold the championship as close to normal, whatever that is anymore."
The new normal is no golf for the next two months because of fears over the new coronavirus.
Shortly after the PGA Championship announcement, the PGA Tour said it was canceling an additional four tournaments on its schedule -- the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the Nelson.
For now, the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth is still scheduled to start on May 18.