Late last week, Nationwide Tour officials began E-mailing professional golfers, including Tacoma’s Michael Putnam, about the growing outbreak of the swine flu virus in Mexico, and how it would affect its annual stop to the country next month.

And without hesitation Wednesday, the Mexico Open, originally scheduled for May 18-24 at its new site at El Bosque Golf Club, was postponed until the fall.

The rescheduling of the event at El Bosque Golf Club, located 200 miles northwest of Mexico City, might heavily backload Putnam’s fall schedule, but he understands the rationale behind the tournament postponement.

“If it’s not safe to go down there, and obviously the Mexican government is canceling some other event, too … the (Nationwide Tour) is going to keep us in their best interest,” Putnam said.

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The only real opening in the current schedule is the week of Sept. 3, which would mean the tour would play tournaments for 14 consecutive weeks.

Another option is to push the Nationwide Tour Championship, scheduled for mid-October, back to allow the golfers a week to rest.

Putnam said he wasn’t planning on participating in the May tournament, anyway, because it meant he’d play seven consecutive tournaments. But he’d reconsider that depending on when the event is rescheduled.

“Toward the end of the year, my decision will be based more on money and position on where I’m at,” Putnam said. “I’ll probably go down there and play it. This worked out great for me.”