Dunhill Links Championship: Ryder Cup fever grips Fife as heroes tee off

Published on Wednesday 6 October 2010 21:27

RYDER Cup fever will be thick in the air at Kingsbarns today as some of the main protagonists in Europe's dramatic victory at Celtic Manor earlier in the week get back to business in the opening round of the Dunhill Links Championship.

• Winning Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie will be playing today

Nine of the players in the 12-strong team that regained the trophy are in action there, as are the captain, Colin Montgomerie, and two of his vice-captains, Paul McGinley and Darren Clarke. Strangely, Thomas Bjorn, the other vice-captain in the field, has been left down at St Andrews today.

This is the tenth staging of the event in its current format and the organisers have just seen all their Christmases come at once. The unfortunate withdrawal of Louis Oosthuizen, who was looking forward to making a return to the scene of his Open Championship triumph in July, due to injury has hardly been mentioned.

The only thing people are talking about is the Ryder Cup and the feelgood factor is tangible - at St Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie, the third of the courses used for an event that has grown on most people to the extent it is now looked forward to with some excitement.

"The whole Tour is buzzing about what we did back there in Wales," observed Graeme McDowell, the man who sparked the celebrations with his win over Hunter Mahan.

• Alan Hansen's Dunhill blog: Day One

For Montgomerie, there probably couldn't have been a better event for his homecoming party. And it's only right that he enjoys every step of what will surely feel like a ceremonial march on these fairways over the next few days.

His game is unlikely to be in any shape at all but, as Lee Westwood noted, he's had a lot on his mind. "I would think he'll find it hard to focus - it's only natural," remarked the Englishman, who is joining Montgomerie today along with Martin Kaymer, Rory McIlroy, McDowell, Padraig Harrington, Ross Fisher, Peter Hanson and the two Molinaris.

"But it's nice. He's playing with his brother (Douglas], so he'll have a great week whatever. And what better place to come back home and play in Scotland, the home of golf, after you've been a victorious Ryder Cup captain. I guess he would have picked it if he'd had had his own selection."

According to McDowell, his biggest problem this week will be trying to stop himself from continuing the party in the Jigger Inn, the famous pub beside the Old Course Hotel.

Westwood, McGinley and Clarke know all about that. Sam Torrance, too. After the win at The Belfry in 2002, they were all involved in a massive celebration in the very same drinking hole. Alan Hansen and Kenny Dalglish also joined in the celebrations, as did Ian Botham.Eight years on, McDowell admitted: "Trying to stay out the Jigger - that's probably going to be the toughest hurdle this week."

There's probably little chance, of course, of Montgomerie having such problems. He's not a big drinker and was tucked up in bed at Celtic Manor as the party was in full swing in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Anyway, he travels to this event from his home in Perthshire.

The Montgomerie brothers will have USPGA champion Kaymer and his fellow German, Patrick Roseler, for company today, but not tomorrow or Saturday. In a change to the format, the teams will play with a different pairing in each of the first three rounds.

With a prize fund of 3.1million and just over 500,000 going to the winner, it's serious stuff for the professionals but, as always, the autograph hunters will probably be more likely to be on the trail of the celebrities.

On this occasion, they include film and TV stars such as Matthew Goode, Hugh Grant, Samuel L Jackson, Kyle MacLachlan, James Nesbitt and Aidan Quinn. Also taking part are rock music legend, Huey Lewis, and Michael Flatley, the Irish/American step dancer who created the Riverdance, as well as Radio 2 presenter and golf nut, Chris Evans.

There, too, are a trio of sporting knights - Sir Ian Botham, Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Steve Redgrave (will Monty have joined them next year?] - and they're joined, from the footballing world alone, by Johann Cruyff, Ruud Gullit, Jamie Redknapp, Gianfranco Zola and Hansen.

Rugby is represented by Gavin Hastings, former All Blacks captain Sean Fitzpatrick and Argentina's Hugo Porta, while cricketers Allan Lamb, Michael Vaughan, Steve Waugh and Shane Warne add to the intriguing cast along with Tim Henman and Franz Klammer.

And the Ryder Cup men certainly won't be allowed to get things their own way. The field also includes five other major winners - Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Michael Campbell, Paul Lawrie and last, but certainly not least, John Daly.

Throw in Simon Dyson, the defending champion, and Martin Laird and Stephen Gallacher, the 2004 winner, spearheading the Scottish challenge and this Ryder Cup party could be pretty damn special.

• Entry to the Championship will be free for spectators at all three courses for the first three days.