The Indian Open golf event has been cancelled for a second consecutive year because of the pandemic ©Getty Images

The Indian Open men's golf tournament has been cancelled for the second year running because of concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event, first staged in 1964 and co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours, was due to be held from October 28 to 31.

"The European Tour today confirms that the Hero Indian Open, scheduled to take place from October 28-31, has been cancelled due to the ongoing threat in the country posed by the COVID-19 pandemic", read a statement.

"With the safety of everyone involved in the tournament being the main priority and travel to and from India remaining challenging, the decision has been taken following consultation with the Indian Golf Union, the Asia Tour and the tournament sponsor, Hero MotoCorp Ltd."

Stephen Gallacher was the last winner of the Indian Open in 2019 ©Getty Images
Stephen Gallacher was the last winner of the Indian Open in 2019 ©Getty Images

The European Tour "will look to schedule a replacement tournament in the final week of October", but said "no definitive plans" were in place yet.

Since the pandemic took hold in March 2020 there have been no tournaments on the Asian Tour.

The European Tour has had to cancel all its events in southern, eastern and south-east Asian, although it has managed to stage events in the Middle East.

At the last Indian Open in 2019, Stephen Gallacher became the first Scotsman to win the title.