Rabat – The renowned Moroccan golf tournament Trophee Hassan II, which runs as part of the European Tour series of events, has been canceled due to COVID-19 for a second consecutive year.
Trophee Hassan II in Morocco, scheduled to take place from October 21 to 24 at the Royal Golf Dar Es Salam golf course in Rabat, was cancelled citing the “ongoing impact” of the pandemic,” reads a statement from the European Tour.
The Lalla Meryem Cup, a simultaneous women’s event running on the same dates, has also been cancelled. The European Tour made the decision in consultation with the Association du Trophee Hassan II (ATH) Organising Committee, led by Morocco’s Prince Moulay Rachid, Royal Golf Dar Es Salam and the Ladies European Tour.
“The European Tour will look to schedule a replacement tournament in the vacated week, but there are no definitive plans as to where that will be at this stage,” reads the statement.
Last year’s 47th Hassan II Trophy and the 26th Lalla Meryem Cup golf tournaments were cancelled in order to comply with the preventive measures against the spread of COVID-19.
Morocco’s former King Hassan II inaugurated the tournament in 1971, then known as the Moroccan Grand Prix. The following year it was renamed to the Hassan II Golf Trophy, a name it held until 2010, when it joined the European Tour and was renamed the Trophee Hassan II.
Before the emergence of COVID-19, ATH signed major partnerships with the Royal Golf Federation in Marrakech, and held the 22nd of the International Golf Travel Market in October 2019, aimed at promoting golf tourism and training in Morocco.
While this year seems more promising for sports than the last year did, considering that all major and minor events were cancelled in 2020, many sports enthusiasts do not have access to public events due to ongoing pandemic-related health measures.
