Players in awe of star turns

The golfers are doing the gazing at today's Dunhill pro-am

David Davies , The Guardian, 25 September 2003

It was one of those "Good heavens, isn't that...? No, it can't be...yes it is" moments. Padraig Harrington, getting into his hotel lift saw, to his astonishment, that Hugh Grant was already in there.

"You think to yourself: 'What's he doing here?' and then you realise 'Oh yes, it's Dunhill week, he would be here.' You want to go up and say hello because you think you know him from seeing him on TV but then you say, 'Actually, he don't know me.'"

Of course, there is a good chance that Grant being in St Andrews for today's start of the Dunhill Links Championship, which is played as a four-round pro-am, actually would know Harrington, the world No9. Furthermore there is a good chance that he would be at least as reticent in the matter of coming forward as Harrington was.

"So you didn't introduce yourself, then?" Harrington was asked. "No. Perhaps I would next time. Er, no I wouldn't."

The Irishman revealed that he was as star-struck as any ordinary mortal. "It's the people you see this week that makes it so different. I saw Ian Botham in the restaurant and you go, 'Oh yes, no wonder he's here.' Last year I saw Peter Schmeichel at Carnoustie and you think, 'Gee, he's a big guy, isn't he?' and Samuel L Jackson was at the pro-am party last night and you just think, 'Wow, he's cool isn't he?' You can just sit in the hotel for a couple of days and star-gaze."

Harrington loves this format, which is not universally embraced by the pros. Some regard an amateur tagging along as an irritant, an obstacle to be overcome in their march to making obscene amounts of money.

This year's event, which encompasses the Carnoustie and Kingsbarns courses as well as St Andrews, has a prize fund of $5m (£3m) and a first place worth almost £500,000. The winner will be all but in the Ryder Cup team on this week's proceeds alone.

"There will be some who think this week is terrible," said Harrington, "and lots more who wouldn't mind going to their local club and playing with the kind of stars that are here this week. We've got the bonus of playing with them on three of the best courses in the world.

"There's a charisma about the event. As a professional golfer it makes you feel special that these guys want to come and play with you."

There are, indeed, some special guys in town this week. The aforementioned Botham is playing with Ian Woosnam and their company for the first three rounds will be Peter O'Malley and Shane Warne.

The cool Jackson will partner the calm Nick Faldo and Schmeichel is with his fellow Dane Thomas Bjorn. In the match ahead will be Ernie Els and his father Neels, and in the match behind will be Grant and Colin Montgomerie.

Footballers abound, with Sir Bobby Charlton partnering Paul Broadhurst, and they play with Emanuele Canonica and Gianluca Vialli. Ruud Gullit, Alan Hansen and Gary Lineker are also in the draw.

The Dubliner Paul McGinley plays with the former vice-president of the United States Dan Quayle and will be well advised to keep the subject of Ireland's most well-known vegetable out of the conversation. An 'e' which Quayle famously added to the end of the word 'potato' in front of a group of schoolchildren probably cost him any chance he had of becoming president.

Harrington is the defending individual champion and, with his partner, the racehorse owner JP McManus, he also won the pro-am section last year. McManus is well able to afford the entrance fee to the pro-am, which is set at $7,500, as indeed are another 150 businessmen around the world who are on a waiting list to get into the event.

Most of the amateurs have to pay to play but not Neels Els, whose son did the honours, and not Buck, the father of the new US PGA champion Scott Micheel. Nor will Daniel Torrance, son of Sam, who is playing off three.

Players of that calibre can invite whoever they want and, while most of the pro-am pairings are made by random draw, there are some that are obviously not. Iain Banner of the championship committee said: "Players and amateurs sometimes make requests to partner a particular player and the committee reviews it on a case-by-case basis."