The bad news for Shane Lowry and his fellow golfers? They won’t get the chance to play The Open Championship this year after the R&A canceled this summer’s event in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The good news for Lowry? He gets to keep the claret jug longer without having to defend than any golfer since Dick Burton, who won in 1939 at St. Andrews in the last Open before World War II.

“You can trust me when I say the claret jug is going to be in safe hands for another year,” said the Irishman, the celebrated winner in 2019 at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, in a video tweet.

Lowry and a raft of his peers have backed the R&A’s decision to cancel the Open. The 149th Open, originally scheduled for July 16-19 at Royal St. George's in Sandwich, England, will now take place on July 11-18, 2021 after the R&A followed the advice of the UK Government and health authorities.

It is the first time since World War II that golf’s original championship, first played in 1860, has been cancelled. Currently it is the only major to confirm a cancellation in 2020, with the PGA Championship (now August 3-9), U.S. Open (Sept. 14-20) and Masters (Nov. 9-15) all putting forward hopeful new dates following postponements.

“I can assure everyone that we have explored every option for playing The Open this year but it is not going to be possible.” said Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A. “There are many different considerations that go into organizing a major sporting event of this scale.

“We rely on the support of the emergency services, local authorities and a range of other organizations to stage the Championship and it would be unreasonable to place any additional demands on them when they have far more urgent priorities to deal with.

“Our absolute priority is to protect the health and safety of the fans, players, officials, volunteers and staff involved in The Open. We care deeply about this historic Championship and have made this decision with a heavy heart. We appreciate that this will be disappointing for a great many people around the world but we have to act responsibly during this pandemic and it is the right thing to do.”

As part of the shift, the 150th Open -- originally set for 2021 at St Andrews -- will now be played at the home of golf in 2022.

“Obviously like everybody else I’m very sad and I'm disappointed that the R&A have had to cancel this year’s Open Championship. At the end of the day people’s health and safety come way before any golf tournament,” Lowry said. “I’m sure the R&A have thought long and hard about this and made their decision based on everybody’s safety.”

England’s Tommy Fleetwood, who was second to Lowry last year and one of the favorites for the event in his home country, also supported the decision.

“Disappointing is probably not the right word, but it’s sad I guess,” Fleetwood told Sky Sports News. “These are unprecedented and very difficult times that none of us have ever experienced before. But with Wimbledon, and now The Open being cancelled, it just shows you how severe these times are.

"It's tough news. It's The Open and it's the best event of the year for a lot of people … I've said many times that if I could win one event and then never pick up a club again, it would be The Open. We've just got to accept the decision and go along with the advice we're getting.

"Everybody's safety is the main priority first and foremost, and we'll just have to look forward to an amazing event in 2021. The opportunity will still be the same, the event will still be the same, and playing in The Open on home soil will still be an honor and a privilege and I'll be looking forward to that next year."

Fleetwood’s fellow Englishman Danny Willett, who won the 2016 Masters, told BBC Radio 5 Live that golf need not be the focus in these extraordinary times.

"Postponement or cancellations is something that we have become accustomed to until everyone is safe and safe to do our sport,” Willett said. “It is a shame but there are things bigger than golf at the moment.”

Jason Day told the Australian AP that “it’s obviously very sad with the Open Championship being canceled but I understand and support the R&A’s decision, especially after Wimbledon canceled their event.”