Major Champions sign up for Dunhill Links
A classic line-up of Major Championship winners will be playing in next month’s 15th Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, including Scotland’s Paul Lawrie, who won the very first staging of the event in 2001. Winner of the Open Championship at Carnoustie in 1999, Lawrie joins a strong field which includes other Major Champions: Stewart Cink, Darren Clarke, John Daly, Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Y.E.Yang. Lawrie, who has played in every one of the 15 Alfred Dunhill Links Championships, is in hot pursuit of a second victory. He said: “My game is in good shape. It has been coming round for quite a while. My putting has improved, I’m rolling the ball much better, so why not this year’s Dunhill Links. I’ve always loved it. The event is played in Scotland, it’s played on three of our best golf courses. I always really enjoy the week.” The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, which takes place from October 1-4, celebrates links golf at its finest and is played over three of the world’s best known and respected links courses – the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie and the highly regarded Kingsbarns Golf Links. Also playing are US Tour players Brooks Koepka, ranked 17th in the world, Sean O’Hair, Pat Perez and Erik Compton, who has had two heart transplants, former winner Branden Grace and Ireland’s Shane Lowry, fresh from his victory in the WGC Bridgestone Invitational in August. England’s Lee Westwood, winner in 2003, Danny Willett, who won the Omega European Masters in July and had an excellent performance in The Open at St Andrews, Ryder Cup stars Luke Donald and Jamie Donaldson, and 2014 European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley are all in the field. Scotland will be well represented not just by Lawrie, but by another former winner Stephen Gallacher, champion in 2004, and many talented challengers, including Richie Ramsay, Marc Warren and former Amateur Champion Bradley Neil, who played as an amateur in the 2013 Alfred Dunhill Links. Defending champion Oliver Wilson will be returning to St Andrews, hoping to become the first golfer to win back-to-back Alfred Dunhill Links titles. With a prize fund of US$5 million, the championship incorporates two separate competitions - an individual professional tournament for the world's leading golfers and a team event in which the professionals are paired with some of the most celebrated amateur golfers which creates a unique atmosphere.