European Tour discussing Florida stint due to COVID-19 restrictions in Europe

The European Tour has discussed staging multiple tournaments in Florida in April as three events set to take place on European soil are reportedly in jeopardy due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

"I can confirm to you that our new partners at the PGA Tour have offered to help us in any way possible, which is a credit to them and visible evidence of the strength of our recently announced strategic alliance," European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley told members in a memo obtained by John Huggan of Golf Digest.

"We did discuss this general idea with your tournament committee as part of the recent meetings we had with them on all plans and contingencies, so they were aware on your behalf."

The Tenerife Open, the Gran Canaria Lopesan Open, and the Portugal Masters are reportedly facing potential player-attendance issues due to travel restrictions in the host countries of Spain and Portugal.

Dates and courses for a potential sojourn overseas are unknown at this point, and Pelley told members the European Tour is exploring all options before committing to any contingency plan.

"Our continuing desire is to investigate all avenues available to us if, in fact, our current schedule is not feasible due to continued travel restrictions for different sections of our membership," he wrote. "As you can imagine, our preference is to stick to our current schedule.

"That remains our plan, but ever-changing government rules and regulations on travel might transpire against us, so we have to proactively look at all options."