Visitors to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship – the annual celebration of seaside golf hosted by the Old Course, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns in Scotland – are used to being somewhat bewildered by the names on the entry list for the tournament’s pro-am element.
It is, for example, far from unknown for members of the gallery to wonder aloud whether the monikers of various tycoons, logistics multimillionaires and celebrities have been made up.
This year, such apparently ridiculous subterfuge was not an easy gag, but a bizarre reality.
The Scotsman’s Martin Dempster broke the story, revealing that “Andrew Waterman,” a pro-am competitor drawn to play with R&A CEO Martin Slumbers, was in reality none other than Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and chairman of LIV Golf.
Dempster went on to report that Johann Rupert, the South African driving force behind the championship and chairman of the committee, said in defence of his invitation to Al-Rumayyan: “Sport is supposed to unite people, not divide. We need to get peace.”
It was not the only surprise.
As if all these shenanigans were not unlikely enough, the Kingdom of Fife was hit by a biblical flood over the weekend.
The professional entry list also included LIV players Louis Oosthuizen, Peter Uihlein (who partnered Al-Rumayyan), Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford, Dean Burmester and Laurie Canter, all competing on invitations.
They were permitted to do so having no outstanding fines or sanctions from the DP World Tour and, being non-members of the circuit, could play on sponsors’ invites.
In contrast, the likes of Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Sergio García continue to be ineligible to compete on the DP World Tour because they hold existing sanctions and/or outstanding tour fines.
Water sluiced down the streets of the Auld Grey Toon of St Andrews, and the courses quickly became unplayable. There was no golf on Saturday or Sunday, forcing organisers to reduce the event to 54 holes, with the final round due to be completed today, presuming that Carnoustie will be playable.
If play does restart this morning, Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick holds the 36-hole lead on 13-under after carding a 67 at Carnoustie and a 64 at Kingsbarns.
Although Fitzpatrick confessed at last year’s Open to be no great fan of the Old Course, the fact that he is playing it in his final round is a distinct advantage with 18 holes to play, especially given that his closest pursuers, Spain’s Nacho Elvira and Scotland’s Grant Forrest, both one back in a share of second, take on the significantly tougher test at Carnoustie.
LEADERBOARD
Matt Cooper