Asked for a 2020 Ryder Cup update, European Tour’s Keith Pelley stays mum

On Tuesday, Rory McIlroy said it is his “personal hunch” that the Ryder Cup would be postponed until 2021, and Thursday’s announcement that the European Tour would resume its schedule in late July didn’t include any update.

European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley declined to discuss the status of the matches, whether the event might be played without fans or how the points system would work based on the revised tour schedule.

“I’m not going to answer the request in terms of making the decision,” Pelley said. “At this time the Ryder Cup is on the schedule, and we will be having further dialogue with our friends at the PGA of America and will advise in due course.”

While it seems unlikely the matches, which are scheduled for Sept. 25-27 at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, will be played in front of fans, the bigger question is qualifying. The European Tour hasn’t played an event since early March, and the revised schedule would currently include just six events before the matches are played, making a proper qualifying process problematic.

Earlier this month, European Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington said the tour is considering a number of different qualifying models but there is “no scenario” that would see him make 12 captain’s picks.