Quality of field tells how good dunhill links championship is

Steve Scott, The Courier, 25 September 2003

If you think that the free admission on offer for the dunhill links championship starting today is a final admission that the protracted pro-am format is a failure, think again.

Johann Ruppert, the mega-rich CEO of dunhill and the force behind the whole event is, to put it mildly, a driven man. When told by the world’s golfing press that his lavish $5 million tournament is a shambles, he snorts dismissively and redoubles his efforts to MAKE it work.

But for the two tee starts imposed on every course, nothing has changed in the format since the much-delayed debut event two years ago which was largely saved from total disaster by Paul Lawrie’s fabulous finishing putt in the gathering gloom of a Monday evening.

The championship is still a halfway house between a very serious golf tournament and a knockabout for his celebrity and business friends, but one has to bow to Mr Ruppert’s unflappable determination and admit it seems to have bedded in as a fixture, albeit a very odd one, on the European Tour schedule.

It succeeds because those who play in the tournament seem to have a very good time indeed, and there is surely nothing wrong with one event out of the schedule being tailored specifically to the competitors’ enjoyment rather than the spectators.

Padraig Harrington, the winner last year in a play-off from Eduardo Romero, summed this up nicely when admitting that he, even while being reasonably famous himself, gets a little starstruck at this event.

“There is a bit of charisma about this event, it’s a bit of a show,” he said.

“It’s not just a golf tournament because of these sporting heroes, movie stars, TV stars, and it makes you feel special because they want to play with you.

“I don’t think this tournament ever set out to be a regular tour event and, OK, some people don’t like the amateur format but if you look at it for its good points, it’s tremendous.”

Lawrie, the first winner, fully agrees and the Aberdonian said, “This is one of the best tournaments we play all year.

“For me to take my main sponsor Martin Gilbert and play with him is just brilliant, and he even took the ball out of the hole when I won at the 18th two years ago. What other sport could match that?”

Ian Banner, Mr Ruppert’s representative yesterday, said that the format might not be popular with some professionals but he was certain others were attracted this week because of it.

“I am pretty certain without this format that Vijay (Singh) would not be here, I know Nick Price would not, Shaun Micheel would not and I’m not sure Ernie (Els) would either,” he said.

“The format is going to stay, it works for the tournament and it makes it a different event.”

The free admission for the first three days does, however, act as a sort of concession that the format is not prime box-office material. Most people who come to golf tournaments are golfers themselves and they generally want to watch good players, not happy hackers, no matter how famous they are.

The final round of the championship has actually been reasonably entertaining in both the last two years, which underlines that there is important business at hand among all the fun and celebrity back-slapping this week.

Quite apart from the $5 million kitty to be shared out, the dunhill has a huge effect on both this year’s European Tour Order of Merit and also on next year’s European Ryder Cup team.

Els leads the Order of Merit chase, while the fledgling Ryder Cup points list could bear a different look come Sunday night.

They are also on three very good courses, possibly the best the European Tour has visited this year. Unlike last week’s German Masters, where the halfway lead was a laughable 16-under, there is a serious test for the pros even on the easier set-ups for their amateur partners.

The top names have been ring-fenced in the draw to play on the same courses, with most of the big names—Els, Price, Singh, Micheel, Harrington, Clarke, Montgomerie—at Carnoustie this morning, the Old Course tomorrow and Kingsbarns on Saturday.