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2 European Tour golf tournaments canceled due to coronavirus

SURREY, England -- The BMW International Open in Germany and the Open de France golf tournaments were canceled on Friday because of the coronavirus pandemic, and the Scottish Open was postponed.

Both the BMW International Open, which was to be played in Munich from June 25-28, and the Open de France, which was scheduled to take place a week later, fell victim to bans on major events in their countries.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced a ban through Aug. 31, and the French government has canceled all large public gatherings until mid-July.

"Both Germany and France have been significantly impacted by coronavirus," European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley said.

The Scottish Open was scheduled to be played from July 9-12.

"Discussions about the possibility of rescheduling this event will continue as we look at a variety of different scenarios for our schedule for when it is safe and permitted to resume playing," Pelley said. "We will only announce details of these plans when we have clarity on the global situation."

All European Tour tournaments up to the end of July have been canceled or postponed because of the virus outbreak.