This year’s Maybank Championship, slated to take place at Saujana Golf & Country Club on April 16-19, has been postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The postponement of the event was announced by the two sanctioning tours, the Asian Tour and European Tour, yesterday. The following week’s Volvo China Open has also been postponed.
A statement on the websites of both tours noted: “The Asian Tour and European Tour accepted a request from title sponsor and promoter Maybank to postpone the Maybank Championship. Discussions are ongoing with all parties looking into the possibility of rescheduling the tournament later this season.”
Datuk Abdul Farid Alias, Group President & CEO of Maybank, said: “The decision to postpone the Maybank Championship was made after intense deliberation and careful consideration in the interest of all the players, visitors, working teams and partners.
“The postponement of the Maybank Championship was not an easy decision to make, however, the safety of all stakeholders takes precedence, and we want to ensure that any risk of possible exposure to Covid-19 is mitigated. We will monitor the situation and work closely with the European and Asian Tours, as well as our other partners, as we plan for our return in the future.”
Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner and CEO of the Asian Tour said: “We respect the decision made by the various key stakeholders of the Maybank Championship. We understand their concerns over the evolving Covid-19 situation which is a major international health issue and we look forward to the return of the Maybank Championship when the situation normalises.”
Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour, said: “The well-being of our players, spectators and staff is always our absolute priority. While it is therefore regrettable that the Maybank Championship and Volvo China Open have been postponed, we feel this is the correct course of action at this time. We are currently investigating alternative dates for both events.”
