Some notable names are heading to St. Andrews.
Padraig Harrington, Ryder Cup stars, trio of LIV golfers highlight field at St. Andrews
Some notable golfers are headed to St. Andrews for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, the biggest pro-am event on the DP World Tour.
Jack Milko has been playing golf since he was five years old. He has yet to record a hole-in-one, but he did secure an M.A. in Sports Journalism from St. Bonaventure University.
Three-time major champion Padraig Harrington and Ryder Cup stars Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Robert MacIntyre will tee it up at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, the European version of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
The pro-am begins Thursday.
Interestingly, Louis Oosthuizen, who won the 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews, and Talor Gooch and Peter Uihelin, two Americans, are in the field too. All three of these players compete on the LIV Golf circuit.
Per the DP World Tour, these three players gained entry into this event through a “professional tournament invitation.”
Funny enough, nobody from LIV Golf was eligible to compete in the Ryder Cup for Team Europe. Yet, less than a week after the Europeans trounced Team USA in Rome, three LIV players are in the field at one of the DP World Tour’s marquee events.
But none of the LIV players in Scotland this week are European.
St. Andrews, which has hosted The Open Championship 30 times, is one of three courses that host the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship each year.
Carnoustie Golf Links, the site of the 2018 Open Championship won by Francesco Molinari, and Kingsbarns Golf Links, which hosted the 2017 Women’s Open, serve as the other two sites.
A 54-hole cut will take place on Saturday evening after each golfer plays a round on each of the three courses. Qualifying players will then play at St. Andrews for Sunday’s final round.
Each round will air live on Golf Channel beginning at 7 a.m. ET. Coverage concludes at noon ET each day.
Ryan Fox, who recently won the BMW PGA Championship, arrives as the defending champion. Other past winners of this event include Harrington, who has won twice, Tyrell Hatton, and 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
