The Ryder Cup, scheduled to take place at the Belfry in two weeks' time, was last night postponed until next year following the horrific terrorist attacks in America.
The European Ryder Cup board and the Professional Golfers’ Association of America made the announcement in a joint statement after five days of deliberation.
"I think we all knew this decision was coming. There are so many reasons to postpone the match when you put the Ryder Cup in the greater context of things," said Padraig Harrington who was due to make his second appearance.
"I don’t think the Americans would have been capable of focusing on the match. You need to be able to focus and that was not going to be possible, nobody could have raised their game under these circumstances," Harrington said.
Both captains also expressed their full support: "The decision to postpone is one of commonsense," said Sam Torrance who said: "There will be time enough to discuss the Ryder Cup next year".
"The tragedy in America has caused us all to reflect and evaluate our own lives and relationships with family and friends," said US captain Curtis Strange.
"The PGA of America’s decision to postpone the match is very appropriate in light of the situation".
Torrance and Strange will captain the same 12 players - the 10 automatic qualifiers and the two wild card picks - they selected. The dates of the refixed three-day event have not been finalised.