Plan for Scottish Open to be crowd test event is cancelled

Next week's Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open will be played without fans after all following a decision to scrap a plan for it to be a crowd test event. It had been agreed with the Scottish Government that 650 spectators could be in attendance on the Saturday and Sunday of the European Tour event at The Renaissance Club in East Lothian. But that idea has now been scrapped following yesterday's announcement by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon that Covid-19 restrictions are being tightened again in a bid to stem a spike in cases. In a statement, the European Tour said: "In light of the recent update to the Scottish Government’s Covid-19 guidelines, the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open will now be played without spectators. "A robust and thorough plan had been put in place, in close collaboration with the Scottish Government, to welcome a limited number of spectators over the weekend at the Renaissance Club as part of a series of pilot sporting and cultural events being considered in Scotland to help support the return of the public. "However, in line with the consistent approach now being taken in Scotland and across the UK to pause pilot events, the tournament will now return to a closed-door model and all ticket holders have been contacted separately with details of the refund process. "We thank our tournament partners Aberdeen Standard Investments, VisitScotland and the Scottish Government for their collaboration. "We also thank the Scottish golf fans who had purchased tickets for the event and look forward to welcoming them back in future years." Test events in other sports in Scotland have included around 700 socially-distanced fans were admitted to the Guinness Pro14 rugby match between Edinburgh and Glasgow at BT Murrayfield last month. In football, meanwhile, 300 supporters attended Scottish Premiership matches hosted by Aberdeen and Ross County, against Kilmarnock and Ross County respectively. However, it has now been decided that further test events in football and rugby have been put on hold. A message from the Editor: Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up. Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website. Joy Yates Editorial Director