“It’s coming Home” – A review of 2018’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
Find out what and who you missed this weekend at the annual tournament held on the Old Course in St Andrews.
During the summer, an entire nation was aboard the “It’s coming home” World Cup bandwagon – including many of us in and around St Andrews – however now, instead of football being the topic of discussion in our small town, it is golf.
There is no systematic way to introduce this unique, prestigious event that strays away from our notion of a typical golf tournament. Golfers, united with other greats in the world of sports, are paired with celebrities, politicians and youngsters alike, to test their golfing skills and endure Scottish weather at Kingsbarns, Carnoustie and on the Old Course, the “Home of Golf”. The pros, vying for another piece of silverware, are always eager to shoot low numbers in line with the notion there isn’t a point in colonising other courses if you haven’t done so at the sport’s origin. But for the rest, paparazzi coverage and good-old banter with fellow icons tick their boxes for the weekend. St Andrews welcomed the likes of Piers Morgan, Hugh Grant, Shane Warne, Bill Murray, and Kevin Pietersen, amongst many others this year. Although they arrived with a wealth of experience in journalism and punditry, acting and producing, and cricket respectively, the game of golf is a levelled playing field where accolades exogenous to the game had an impact this weekend – well in exception of the fact their mere presence drew dozens of starry-eyed admirers, many being students, to follow the proceedings.
Prior to the tournament, many downplayed the potential of Dunhill due to the so-called “ hang-over” effect of the previous weekend’s Ryder Cup and soon closing of the 2018 golf season. However, these concerns and myths were dispelled from Thursday’s onset, with a stalwart in Padraig Harrington asserting a strong statement early on shooting 3 under Par (-3) at Kingsbarns, only to be bettered by Marcus Fraser and Matt Wallace who both shot an impressive 4 under (-4) at Carnoustie. Those who were drawn to commence their challenge at the Old Course found it a tad difficult early on.
However, golf is a game of uncertainties and one which requires you to be at your best at all times. No lead is inextinguishable, and if a player allows pressure to wear them down on the course, they could descend from riches to rags in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately for Hatton, the Golfing Gods threw him a curveball on Sunday and one that will not be forgotten soon. Holding onto a five-shot lead as he made his way to the 10th tee, the two-time defending champion looked set to clinch a hat-trick of triumphs, but the Hatton we had seen and admired till this stage was on another paradigm in comparison to the man who made careless and very costly errors on the back 9. With the trophy in sight, he was losing his grip at an alarming rate, dropping shots at a canter in similar style to those we’ve seen on memorable Sundays by the leader, like Adam Scott’s steep descent at the Open in 2012, Hatton’s collapse resulted in him being toppled by Dane Lucas Bjerregaard, who scripted a great round of 67 in difficult, murky conditions.