Ernie Els and Retief Goosen lead a strong line-up of South African golfers for this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews in the United Kingdom.
Els, the 2002 Open Championship winner at Muirfield, and Goosen are both two-time winners of the US Open, but neither has won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Other South Africans playing are Anton Haig, James Kingston, Louis Oosthuizen, Andrew McLardy, Keith Horne, Richard Sterne, Mark Murless, Titch Moore, Alex Haindl, Warren Abery, Thomas Aiken, James Kamte, Charl Schwartzel and David Frost. Also in the field are Zimbabwe’s Tony Johnstone and Marc Cayeux.
They will be joined by South African amateurs Neels Els, father of Ernie Els, Sean Frost, son of David Frost, Springbok rugby legend Morné du Plessis and cricket star Shaun Pollock.
Also in the field is two-time Open champion Padraig Harrington, and other members of the European Ryder Cup team, which unexpectedly lost to the United States in Valhalla, including Paul Casey, Soren Hansen, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Robert Karlsson, Graeme McDowell, Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood and Oliver Wilson.
The championship, conceived as a celebration of links golf, is played over three of the world’s best-known and respected links courses — the Old Course at St Andrews, the Championship Course at Carnoustie and the highly regarded Kingsbarns Golf Links. On the fairways and greens, the professionals share centre stage with leading amateurs from the worlds of sport and entertainment — a mix that gives the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship its unique character.
Personalities from the world of entertainment include film and TV stars Hugh Grant, Samuel L Jackson, John O’Hurley, Dougray Scott and Luke Wilson.
Also taking part are music legends Don Felder from the Eagles, Ronan Keating, Huey Lewis and Bon Jovi drummer Tico Torres.
Many of the world’s great sports stars will be playing, including football’s Bobby Charlton, Johan Cruyff, Roberto Donadoni, Ruud Gullit and Jamie Redknapp; world heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko; Olympic rowing legend Steve Redgrave; British tennis hero Tim Henman; American Football running back Marcus Allen; downhill ski star Franz Klammer; and former rugby players Sean Fitzpatrick and Gavin Hastings. Cricket is represented by India’s Kapil Dev, England’s Mark Nicholas and Michael Vaughan and Australian spin genius Shane Warne.
The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship has a unique format. With a prize of $5-million, it incorporates two separate competitions — an individual professional tournament for the world’s leading golfers and a team event in which they are paired with some of the most celebrated amateur golfers. — Sapa