March 19 (Reuters) – The Portugal Masters, which was scheduled to take place from April 29-May 2 at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course in Vilamoura, has been postponed due to travel difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Tour said on Friday.

The Tour said that the event will be replaced on the calendar by the Tenerife Open at Golf Costa Adeje, which will move from its original date of April 15-18.

An alternate event in Europe will be organised in its place with details to be announced in due course, it added.

“We are obviously disappointed the ongoing challenges with international travel have led to the postponement of the Portugal Masters,” European Tour Chief Executive Keith Pelley said in a statement https://www.europeantour.com/european-tour/news/articles/detail/portugal-masters-postponed.

“Everyone associated with the tournament, both in Portugal and in the European Tour, worked very hard to deliver the event which has been an important part of our schedule since 2007.

“Unfortunately, it simply was not possible to stage the event next month, so we are now looking into the possibility of rescheduling it at some point later this year.”

South Africa’s George Coetzee won his fifth European Tour title at the Portugal Masters in September last year. (Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)

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