Links event is back on course

Lewine Mair, The Telegraph, 3 December 2001

The Dunhill Links championship, which went missing from the 2002 schedule amid sponsors' fury of the critical press coverage of their event six weeks ago, has been reinstated and will be held in the week following the Sept 27-29 Ryder Cup.

Johan Rupert, the CEO of Richmont, Dunhill's parent company, said yesterday they would be sticking with the same pro-am format and playing over the same courses. Less to be bloody-minded, but because they believe the arrangements deserve a second chance.

Rupert said his view was backed by the players, most of whom agreed that they would not like to see any one of St Andrews, Carnoustie or Kingsbarns dropped. Though play on all three courses was disrupted by autumnal mists at some point or another in the event just passed, Rupert is keeping his fingers crossed that the slightly earlier date could make the difference.

With his anger at the British press having seemingly been diluted by on-going praise from the players, Rupert is now of the opinion that there were mistakes on both sides.

He described the make-up of the tournament's four-strong handicap committee as "a mistake" and promises that next year it will have none of them on board.

The way in which Rupert and his colleagues slashed 39 of the amateurs' handicaps without anything in the way of explanation was one of the main sources of conflict in October, with the press angry at being left in the dark.

Yesterday, it became clear there had been a crossing of wires when Rupert said that he never received any request to address the writers. Rupert, who is a member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club and knows St Andrews well, said the cutting of handicaps had been instigated by caddie comments.

At the start of the week, some of them had pointed to how there were amateurs with handicaps in double figures whipping round each of the courses in the mid-70s. In the knowledge that American officialdom cuts handicaps at their AT & T championship, Rupert elected to do the same. Apparently, only one player complained.

Had the R & A not raised their eyebrows at the way in which they had embarked on a handicapping system all his own? Apparently not.

Yesterday, Rupert reiterated that handicaps around the world are far from uniform. By his reckoning, a five in South Africa would be an eight in Britain.

Apart from what was written about the handicaps, Rupert resented cracks made about the celebrities. He pointed to how the press had picked on Michael Douglas, apparently for holding up the field, and Hugh Grant, for his golf. In his eyes, both criticisms were undeserved.

No one will dissuade Rupert from the view that the game needs celebrities as much as it needs the professionals. At a time when the number of golfers is declining, he believes that the sight of film stars, rugby players and cricketers in his event will help teenagers to think of the game as "cool".

The celebrities apart, he believes the greatest strength of his tournament lies in the fact it is played over the kind of courses the professionals love to play.

In a comment which could just spark off more trouble, this time from the hierarchy at Loch Lomond, Rupert said he could not believe that the Scottish Open was not played over a links.