Canadian golfer Aaron Cockerill is among the golfers stuck in South Africa due to recent travel bans.
Hey @JustinTrudeau Stuck in South Africa and don’t see a way out any time soon. Any help would be greatly appreciated Cheers!
— Aaron Cockerill (@A_Cockerill) November 28, 2021
Countries around the world have issued travel restrictions on flights from South Africa after the detection of a new COVID-19 variant of concern. The Canadian government put forth new measures that will ban the entry of foreign nationals who have visited the seven southern African nations in the last two weeks.
Organizers of golf's Joburg Open, which started Thursday, said it would continue even after at least 23 mostly European players pulled out in the hours after South African health authorities announced they had detected the new variant. The tournament was later reduced to a 54-hole, three-round event ending on Saturday "to help non-South African resident players, caddies and tournament support staff return to their home countries," the organizers said.
The Joburg Open was scheduled to be the first of three events in South Africa to start the new season on the circuit formerly known as the European Tour. But next week's South African Open will now only be a South African tour event with international players likely to head home to beat travel restrictions. The Alfred Dunhill Championship set for Dec. 9-12 was canceled.
-With files from the Associated Press
