Actor Jamie Dornan hits a long iron shot at the St Andrews Links
A dazzling cast from the world of entertainment took center stage for a challenging weekend of charity golf this past autumn, where they competed at the annual Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews, the birthplace of golf.
Headlining the all-star lineup where Fifty Shades of Grey movie star Jamie Dornan (named 2017 Sexiest Man Alive by Glamour magazine), along with fellow Hollywood duffers Andy Garcia, Matthew Goode, Hugh Grant, Greg Kinnear and Kyle MacLachlan shared the fairways with a world-class field of golf professionals in the prestigious Championship, which raises substantial funds for the Alfred Dunhill Foundation each year.
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Returning to the St Andrews links in 2016 were music giants Ronan Keating, Huey Lewis and Bon Jovi’s Tico Torres, while Linkin Park’s David Farrell and former Westlife lead singer Brian McFadden played for the first time.
There were also many great sporting legends in the field, including UK footballers Michael Ballack, winner of the Team Championship last year, Luis Figo and Ruud Gullit, cricketers Sir Ian Botham, Michael Vaughan, Shane Warne, Kevin Pietersen, Mark Boucher and Jacques Kallis, Olympic rowing legend Sir Steve Redgrave and record-breaking jump jockey A.P. McCoy.
With a whopping prize fund of US$5 million, the Alfred Dunhill Links incorporates an individual professional tournament for the world’s leading golfers and a team championship in which the professionals are paired with the amateur golfers which creates a unique atmosphere.
The recent Alfred Dunhill Links Championship included a blue chip professional line-up of Major Championship winners, including 2016 Masters Champion Danny Willett, and members of the European Ryder Cup team. Willett flew in on a private jet straight from the Ryder Cup in Hazeltine, with Rafa Cabrera Bello, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Martin Kaymer, Thomas Pieters and Lee Westwood, plus Captain Darren Clarke.
Other Major Champions in the field included Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington, Louis Oosthuizen, Graeme McDowell, Paul Lawrie, Trevor Immelman, Angel Cabrera and Y.E.Yang. Also playing are former winner and world No.13 Branden Grace, leading Irish golfer Shane Lowry, Andrew Johnston, now universally known as ‘Beef’, and former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley.
The 2016 Team Championship winner were Jonathan Smart and Masters champion Danny Willett, who won the $50,000 first prize in the Alfred Dunhill Links Team Championship at St Andrews.
The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is one of the world’s leading golf events. It is a magnet for golfers from every corner of the globe. The 3-day tournament is played over three magnificent courses – the Old Course (St Andrews), the Championship Course, Carnoustie (near Dundee) and Kingsbarns Golf Links (10km south of St Andrews).
The championship helps to raise money for the Alfred Dunhill Foundation, which is committed to developing young amateur golfers in Scotland and South Africa and also supports the University of St Andrews and the St Andrews Pilgrim Foundation, which refurbishes and preserves historical monuments in the town.
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The 2017 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship will take place from October 5-8. Admission is free for all spectators over the first three days with final day tickets on Sunday, October 8 available to purchase.
Photos courtesy of: Alfred Dunhill Links/Getty Images
