IF YOU’RE LUCKY ENOUGH to be blessed with the skills of a pro golfer you get to play the world’s best courses regularly, but at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (from 28th Sept) you get it with knobs on. The pride of Scotland: St. Andrews Old Course, KIngsbarns and Carnoustie await you.
The Alfred Dunhill consists of an individual professional tournament for the world’s leading golfers and a team competition pairing top pros and celebrity amateurs. This year, with Rory fresh from his Fedex Cup triumph at Eastlake, he and his Dad Gerry will be going for it after victory in 2014 and a near miss in 2019. They tied on 39 under par with Tommy Fleetwood and Ogden Phipps but were beaten on countback.
Rory has fond memories of the Alfred Dunhill Links. In 2007 aged 18 he became the youngest player to earn a European Tour Card from tournament play when he finished third. In 2014, 48 hours after helping Europe to win the Ryder Cup at Gleneages Rory won the Alfred Dunhill paired with his Dad. He also won two majors that year, the Open at Hoylake and the USPGA Championship at Valhalla, a double he was close to repeating this year.
Incidentally, this year’s BMW Wentworth charity will be CALM (Campaign against living miserably) Sounds as bad as Tony Blair’s ‘Drawing All Faiths Together’ (DAFT)
RORY WILL RETURN to the West Course at Wentworth, Surrey, for the BMW PGA Championship (Sept 8th-11th) The chances of his winning a maiden Rolex series title in the fourth Rolex event of the DP World Tour season now look promising, although Justin Rose, Matt Fitzpatrick and Jon Rahm together with defending champion Billy Horschel will be trying to ensure he doesn’t.
Tickets for the Championship have completely sold out. Superstars Rock Group Razorlight and Jax Jones (never heard of them) will be blasting out on the Saturday and Sunday on the Slingsby Showstage so if the cheers don’t deafen the spectators the band probably will.
MORE ACTION IN SURREY on 16-18th September: the PGA Cup at Foxhills’ Longcross course , one of the stunning parkland courses the county is famous for. Originally called the Llandudno Trophy and played between Great Britain Scotland Wales and Ireland the tournament was suspended for the 2nd World War and never restarted.
Now played between the USA and GBI the trophy currently held by the Americans has been re-named the PGA Cup, probably because they couldn’t pronounce Llandudno.
TREVOR IMMELMAN’s International team will be hoping for something like a miracle when The Presidents Cup (22nd-25th Sept) is held at Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, Nth. Carolina and they come up against the USA team of Davis Love III. Since the USA have won every match since 2003, and Gary Player’s International team could only manage a tie on that occasion, there is some excuse for America feeing cocky. In 2019 Tiger Woods captained the U.S. in Melbourne when they beat Ernie Els’ team 16-14.
Quail Hollow has been going all-out to impress the fans, with a stadium arena “Packed with enthusiasm and entertainment!”
For the hungry spectators there will be an “on-course experience reflecting the Charlotte culture” with local eateries Ace Burgers, What the Fries, and Two Scoops Creamery providing sustenance between holes 10 and 14, and if they still fancy a little something Big Chicken Bites and the Sunflour Bakery between the 14th and 18th. After this experience of “Charlotte Culture” they can waddle over to watch the presentation ceremony, if they don’t have a heart attack en-route.
GOLFERS HAVE the happiest marriages – fact.
500 golfers and non-golfers’ wives were asked to rate their marriages on a scale of one up to five.
Nearly 80% of the golfers’ wives rated their satisfaction as five, compared to 59% of non-golfers’ wives. So you can head off to the tee with the blessing of ‘Er Indoors.’ (But maybe not on your wedding anniversary.)
Until next time: Happy Golfing.
Contact Mick for regrips and repairs. Tel. 638 859 475, or visit https://mickthegrip.blogspot.com
