“I don’t think there are many worse holes in world golf.”
Robert MacIntyre is the best Scottish golfer in the world, but he’s not a fan of one of the game’s most famous holes in his home country.
MacIntyre tied for 25th at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Sunday at St. Andrews, but he could’ve placed higher if not for stumbling in both weekend rounds at the Road Hole, the par-4 17th. He made a double on Saturday and then had a bogey on Sunday, after which he had plenty to say about the hole.
“Blow it up,” he grumbled. “I don’t think there are many worse holes in world of golf. It needs to be a hole you are able to hit a golf shot into and not one where you just hit it onto the green and try to get up and down.”
Tell us how you feel, Bobby Mac.
If air raid sirens all of the sudden sound around St. Andrews in the future, no need to fear. It’s just MacIntyre coming to do some course renovations.
For his efforts, Hatton will bank $800,000 out of the $5 million purse.
Tyrrell Hatton may have finally found a course he likes.
He won the 2024 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Sunday, becoming the first player to win the event three times. A day after tying the course record at St. Andrews, he birdied the final hole to top Nicolas Colsaerts by a shot and win the title.
For his efforts, Hatton will bank $800,000 out of the $5 million purse. Colsaerts, though he missed a birdie putt on the last hole, still earned $533,330 for his efforts.
Here’s a look at the prize money payouts for every golfer at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — If there’s any room left on the plinth of the Old Tom Morris statue, they may have to plonk a bronze bust of Tyrrell Hatton onto it at this rate.
Victory in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship over the Old Course on Sunday was the Englishman’s third success in the Pro-Am contest. In the home of the game, Hatton once again prospered in his golfing home from home.
It all came down to a shoot-out on the 18th as Hatton and the gallant Belgian, Nicolas Colsaerts, marched up the final hole in a tie at the top. Things were so tight, you half expected them to reach for their dueling pistols as they clumped over Grannie Clark’s Wynd.
Hatton made his statement of intent when he dunted a neatly executed chip to within three feet. Over to you Nicolas.
Colsaerts opted for the putter from around 25 yards but, having struggled with the long ones for much of the day, his eagle attempt came up about 10-feet short.
The former Ryder Cup player, who trundled in a brave putt from a similar distance on the 17th to keep himself in a share of the lead, couldn’t make this one for his birdie, though.
Hatton stepped in to gobble up his own birdie from short range to post a 2-under 70 for a 24-under aggregate and a narrow, one-shot victory.
As well as the silverware and a check for $800,000, Hatton’s win also secures the LIV Golf player a spot in the DP World’s season-ending bonanza in Dubai in November. The fact his dad, Jeff, was by his side as part of the Pro-Am team affair added an extra dollop of icing to the cake.
“This is the first time I’ve actually won the tournament with my dad here so it means a lot,” said Hatton as he referenced those earlier wins in 2016 and 2017 that were father free.
“It was a relief to get over the line. The last seven holes were pretty stressful.”
Hatton certainly didn’t do those stress levels any favors when he double-bogeyed the 13th and leaked another on the 14th. “I probably shouldn’t repeat what I said to myself then,” he added with a grin.
Up until that shoogle, Hatton had been making purposeful strides and was three clear after birdies at 10 and 11. Colsearts, meanwhile, had failed to capitalize on decent birdie chances around the turn but Hatton’s mishaps gave him renewed hope.
Spain’s LIV rebel, David Puig, had threatened to gatecrash affairs as he covered his first 10 holes in 8 under to get within striking distance but he slithered away on the run-in.
When Colsaerts birdied the 15th, it was level-pegging but Hatton stood firm and delivered the telling blow on the last as he got his nose over the line in this two-horse race.
It was a sore one for the valiant Colsaerts, who doesn’t have a full category for the tour and was playing on an invitation. “It’s bittersweet,” he said. “If you’d told me earlier in the week that I would finish second, then I would’ve taken it. I’m proud of what I’ve done.”
Having celebrated his dad’s 65th birthday on Saturday night, Rory McIlroy needed a bit more than a session on the range to get in the swing again on the closing Sunday
“A cold shower and a couple of double espressos got me going,” he said with a weary smile after a closing 4-under 68 left World No. 3 with a 14-under tally.
McIlroy has certainly enjoyed the last few weeks back on this side of the pond. The Irish Open and the BMW PGA Championship were terrific, late-season showpieces while a whirl around the Old Course, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie over the last four days is always an experience to savor.
“I’ve absolutely loved them,” said McIlroy, who still leads the Race to Dubai and is eager to top the rankings for a sixth time.
“I appreciate these events more as I get older. The one thing that I love when I come back here is the tournaments just feel a little more authentic and purer and not as corporate.
“Compared to the three FedEx Cup Playoff events (on the PGA Tour), the crowds at the Irish Open and Wentworth, even here as well, were bigger and the atmosphere was better.”
The DP World Tour marketing lot would be cock-a-hoop hearing that. Not so chipper, however, was Robert MacIntyre after joining McIlroy, and his compatriot, Scott Jamieson, on 14 under.
His closing 70 included another damaging exchange with his old foe, the 17th. His double-bogey there on Saturday was followed by a bogey on it in the final round.
Forget the Road Hole. MacIntyre would be happy if was the end of the road for one of golf’s most iconic par-fours.
“Blow it up,” he grumbled. “I don’t think there are many worse holes in world golf. It needs to be a hole you are able to hit a golf shot into and not one where you just hit it onto the green and try to get up and down.”
Rahm found himself in a difficult spot on the 12th hole at the Old Course.
Jon Rahm found himself in a difficult spot on the 12th hole at the Old Course on Friday.
But after picking away some seaweed near his ball and then hacking away at it, he managed to make an all-world par save during the second round of the 2024 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Rahm had four bogeys elsewhere on the course but also had three birdies and an eagle for a second-round 71 to sit T-29 at 8 under.
He’ll head to the weekend six shots back of Nicolas Colsaerts and Cameron John.
Jon Rahm plays his third shot on the 12th hole from the beach on day two of the 2024 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the Old Course at St. Andrews. (Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)
The DP World Tour stop is contested over three historic courses – Carnousie and Kingsbarn Links are also in the mix – and everyone gets a shot at the Old Course at least once over the first three days.
One of the most fun events on golf’s calendar is here, as several of the best players in the world are set to compete in the DP World Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Over the first three days of competition, players will take on The Old Course at St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, three of the most iconic venues in the sport, before the final round is played at the Home of Golf.
Some of the big names in the field include Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton and Billy Horschel.
LIV Golf’s Yasir Al-Rumayyan, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and DP World Tour Chief Executive Officer Guy Kinnings are all expected to be at the event.
This will be the first time the two (and Guy Kinnings) are at the same event since the game’s civil war began.
LIV Golf’s Yasir Al-Rumayyan, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and DP World Tour Chief Executive Officer Guy Kinnings are all expected to be at this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, a DP World Tour event contested over three of the most famous venues in golf: St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, according to The Telegraph.
And in fact, Al-Rumayyan and Monahan are scheduled to play together in the pro-am, paired with PGA Tour-friendly Billy Horschel and Dean Burmester.
This will be the first time all three, Kinnings included, are at the same event since the game’s civil war began.
Group 43 at the Dunhill Links Championship might attract more eyeballs than the final pairing on Sunday. 🧐 pic.twitter.com/L3zTa4wp3C
The field for the Dunhill Links is loaded with some of the biggest names in golf, including Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre, Patrick Reed, Louis Oosthuizen and Billy Horschel.
It’s hard to imagine a better spot for all golf’s biggest players to come together.
“The UK and Ireland have what money can’t buy: venues and courses steeped in heritage and history.”
Elevate Golf is being put together by industry veteran Tom Lovering, a former director of Bunkered magazine owner PSP Media Group. Glasgow-based PSP, which was sold to DC Thomson in 2019, also organised the annual Scottish Golf Show.
Lovering said up to 50 high-quality international tour operators will be available for bespoke appointments with more than 100 suppliers. Open Championship rota venues such as Royal Birkdale, Royal Troon, Carnoustie, Muirfield and Royal Portrush are among the invited suppliers that have already signed up for the four-day event at the Old Course Hotel in St. Andrews in October.
Several of the world’s biggest tour operators have also confirmed their attendance, including Perry Golf, Premier Golf, Haversham and Baker, Links Golf St. Andrews, Hidden Links, Pioneer Golf and Carr Golf.
“What people don’t generally appreciate is that those tour operators and their North American clients have probably £500 million (about $654 million) of economic impact to the UK and Ireland on an annual basis,” Mr Lovering said. “The high-end clients spend something like three times more than a domestic traveller, maybe even four times more.
“Someone from England coming to Scotland or someone from Scotland going to England won’t stay for eight or nine or 10 days. They’ll do a long weekend, or two or three days, whereas the people making the trip from America or Canada will stay for eight to 10 days and they will stay in nice hotels, they’ll eat in nice restaurants, they’ll drink good wine, they will go and use the hotels and they will have caddies and pay the green fees and so on, so it’s a very lucrative market for the economy and tourism.”
A view from behind the green on the par-4 first hole on the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland. (David Cannon/R&A via Getty Images)
Sky Sports television presenter Di Stewart will play host at the event which will culminate in a gala dinner where renowned hotelier Sir Rocco Forte will be the guest of honour.
A keen golfer who is said to have a passion for the sport, Sir Rocco and his sister Olga Polizzi set up their hotel business in 1996. It currently includes a collection of 14 individual hotels, resorts, residences and villas around the world including The Balmoral in Edinburgh, which will be among the suppliers taking part at Elevate Golf.
“I’m privileged to be asked to take part in the first ever Elevate Golf event at the Old Course Hotel,” Sir Rocco said. “Being able to share my story with all those present and talk about hospitality gives me great joy, and I cannot wait to meet so many driven and likeminded individuals this autumn.”
Stewart added: “The UK and Ireland have what money can’t buy: venues and courses steeped in heritage and history. Couple that with quality and worldwide acclaim, they are quintessential golf destinations.
“Elevate Golf aims to solidify that status through showcasing to the industry the world-class products on offer.
“The event will be attended by only the finest suppliers and international tour operators in the industry. Working with a small pool of high-quality tour operators guarantees bespoke, value-added face-to-face meetings for all accommodation providers and golf courses.
“We are looking forward to visiting the Old Course Hotel for this inaugural event – four days that will kickstart this exciting new project that will drive more international visitors to the breathtaking courses and hotels in the UK and Ireland.”
Associate director of sales Sarah Linton said the Old Course Hotel is looking forward to hosting the event.
“The team is ready to create an energetic atmosphere where industry professionals can network, exchange ideas, and collectively contribute to the advancement of golf tourism across the UK and Ireland,” she added.
The newly-minted LPGA Hall of Famer was dominant down the stretch Sunday, capturing her third major title at the 2024 AIG Women’s Open at St. Andrews. Ko won by two shots over World No. 1 Nelly Korda, No. 2 Lilia Vu and No. 6 Ruoning Yin for her first major championship victory in more than eight years.
With the win, Ko will take home the top prize of $1,425,000, an increase from the $1,350,000 doled out a year ago.
Here’s the prize money payouts for LPGA players from the $9.5 million purse at the 2024 AIG Women’s Open at St. Andrews.
Sunday in St. Andrews will be a generational battle.
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Jiyai Shin won her first AIG Women’s British Open 16 years ago. At age 36, she’s the winningest player left in the field on the Old Course, where she leads defending champion Lilia Vu by one stroke, World No. 2 Nelly Korda by two and the LPGA’s newest Hall of Fame member, Lydia Ko, by three.
Sunday in St. Andrews will be a generational battle. Shin has won more than 60 titles worldwide. She left the LPGA at the peak of her game in 2014, taking her talents to Japan, where she’s now won 30 times. Her career began close to home on the Korean LPGA, where she won 21 times, and kicked into another gear when she won 11 times from 2008-2013.
A rookie on the LPGA in 2009, Shin set goals for the next decade, but reached them all in short order. She struggled to find her next step and motivation.
That’s when she decided she needed a change, and joined the Japan LPGA to be closer to family. She worried about disappointing her fans, but then she met new fans.
“I had a great decision,” said Shin, who wants to be a mentor to younger players the way so many were for her all those years ago.
South Korea’s Jiyai Shin smiles on the 17th tee on day three of the 2024 Women’s British Open Golf Championship on the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland. (Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images)
Count Ko, 27, among those who look up to Shin, marveling at her 6:30 a.m. practice round earlier this week and the way she pushed herself in the gym.
It was Shin who played alongside Ko when she won the Canadian Women’s Open at age 15, a dozen years ago.
“I think that takes not only a lot of work ethic but passion towards the game in what she does,” said Ko, who called Shin’s decision to leave the LPGA in her prime courageous.
Ko comes into Sunday’s final round a little lighter than most, given that she played her way into the Hall by virtue of a storybook victory at the Paris Olympics. That’s not to say she isn’t still “greedy” about wanting to win more, but there’s certainly nothing left to prove.
“It’s definitely nice to know that I can go back to my room, and even if I have a bad day, there’s a gold medal, you know, waiting for me,” said Ko, who smiled and then quickly added, “and my husband.”
Korda closed with a birdie to stop the bleeding on a back nine that included two bogeys and a double. She led by as many as three on a sunny but windy day at the Home of Golf but dipped to third after a disappointing 75.
The last player to win seven times in a season, including multiple majors, was Yani Tseng in 2011. The last American player to do so was Kathy Whitworth in 1967.
Tseng’s 2011 British Open victory at Carnoustie was the last time a player won in back-to-back years in this championship. Vu has a chance to pull off the same on Sunday as she vies for a third career major title.
Lilia Vu of the United States tees off on the 14th hole during Day Three of the AIG Women’s Open at St. Andrews Old Course on August 24, 2024, in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
After managing to avoid the bunkers in the first two rounds, the 2023 LPGA Player of the Year had to take her medicine on the back nine Saturday.
“I was definitely a brat about it,” said Vu, “because I thought I hit a good shot, and then it happened to roll in.”
She credited her caddie for getting her mind right.
Vu missed several months of competition earlier this year with a back injury and does all that she can to combat the cold. On Friday, she went back and forth from the cold plunge to the sauna and found the new routine helpful, along with plenty of hot chocolate.
Last year’s victory came at Walton Heath, a parkland course, outside London. The gritty Vu got a kitten to celebrate, naming him Walton. There’s already a second bribe from her father in play that if she wins another major, she can get a second cat.
She’s already thought about names, noting that she’d get a girl this time around and name her Andie.
Lydia Ko of New Zealand poses for a photo with her caddie and team during a Pro-Am ahead of the AIG Women’s Open at St. Andrews Old Course on August 21, 2024, in St. Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Ko, who gushes about her puppy Kai when asked, looks at what happened at the Paris Olympics as something that was too good to be true. Imagine then, how’d she’d feel about topping it off with a victory at the Home of Golf, snapping a major championship drought that stretches back to 2016.
Would she wave goodbye on the Swilcan Bridge? Ko, who has long said she wouldn’t play past 30, was asked about a walk-off retirement at the start of the week.
“I think you just have to listen to yourself,” said Ko. “The way Suzann (Pettersen) did it after holing that putt at Solheim, I mean, she couldn’t have finished her career on any more of a high.”
The same could be said for Ko, who could end her incredible career in the place where golf began. Doesn’t get more epic than that.
Her caddie used a distance-measuring device on both the 10th and 18th holes.
LPGA rookie Ana Pelaez Trivino was disqualified from the AIG Women’s British Open on Friday after her caddie used a distance-measuring device on both the 10th and 18th holes.
The use of a distance measuring device is prohibited at the championship under model local rule G5. The penalty was applied under Rule 4.3.
The 26-year-old Spaniard, who played collegiate golf at the University of South Carolina and won in her pro debut on the Ladies European Tour in the Madrid Ladies Open, shot 72-74 in the first two rounds and was in position to make the cut.
Currently ranked 190th in the world, Pelaez Trivino hadn’t made a cut in a major this season.
