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Golf

‘It’s magical’: There’s no experience like the St. Andrews Links Collegiate

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Let’s be honest: The St. Andrews Links Collegiate is not your typical college golf tournament. It’s just not. And while it tries to masquerade as one, with a pop-up tent on the first tee sporting the tournament’s name along with bananas and bottled water for the student athletes competing, it’s impossible to conceal the Royal and Ancient clubhouse looming 25 feet behind the first tee at the Old Course.

Cal-Berkeley, Michigan State, Princeton and St. Andrews University were the fortunate teams selected to play in this year’s tournament, and each of the school’s respective flags flapped in a light breeze beside the first tee Wednesday morning. The teams played two days of stroke play on the nearby Jubilee Course before teeing it up on the Old Course for the final day of medal match play. Two silver trophies shaped like large soup bowls and engraved with the event name were positioned atop a podium, a reminder of what was on offer for the team championship.

To make a pilgrimage to St. Andrews is a holy-like experience for those who love the game and, for many, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play at the Home of Golf. But to be a college student competing over three days on behalf of your team, alongside your best friends, with the week culminating in a final round on golf’s most famous course? Sorry, kids, it’s all downhill from here.

“Ladies and gentleman, good morning and welcome to the Old Course,†the starter boomed into a microphone with Michigan State’s Paula Balanzategui and St. Andrews’ Caitlin Maurice the first pairing out.

“She won the lottery,†joked Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll, MSU women’s head coach, about Balanzategui’s good fortune of hitting the opening tee shot.

As the women tried to keep to their practice routines, local caddies strode up to both, introduced themselves and began comparing yardage books, pin locations, and reviewed the rule sheet for the Old Course. This isn’t normal. But, once again, this isn’t an ordinary college event.

Balanzategui hit the first tee shot of the day, a driver which found the expansive double fairway. She cracked a smile toward a member of the coaching staff, and, one swing later, the group departed.

“It was just a beautiful 8:45 a.m. tee time. No wind at all. Pretty warm for the time of the year. I was very, very excited and I still am that I had this opportunity,†Balanzategui said about playing the Old Course. “I was honestly pretty calm. I was lucky enough, I played here on Saturday, too, so I was more nervous on Saturday than today.â€

The highlight of the day? Balanzategui said she nearly made an ace when her ball lipped out at the par-3 11th hole, which has often been called the “shortest par 5 in golf†because of its difficulty.

St. Andrews University’s Ethan Mangum was the first to play for the men in the second tee time of the day alongside Michigan State’s Julian Menser. While Mangum, who moved from the U.S. to Scotland to compete for St. Andrews, was one of the few with Old Course experience, he had his own motivations Wednesday – to rebound from a tough second day and to impress his roommates who were watching him compete.

“It was the first time I got to play in front of some of my friends, so really putting on a show was a lot of fun,†said Mangum, who won the first point of the day for his team, shooting 68 to Menser’s 75. “It was nice. I was just excited to be out here again. I didn’t have my best round yesterday and so bouncing back today was my goal and getting off to a hot start – 5 under on the first nine holes – really got me settled in to really just go out and have the best day possible.â€

Despite the defeat — though, his team won the consolation match — Menser was all smiles. Playing the Old Course for the first time, like he did Wednesday, will do that. Menser said he didn’t feel nerves on the first tee and when asked if it was everything he expected after years of viewing from afar, he said:

“It was like the exact same. On TV sometimes it doesn’t do it justice with slopes and stuff, but the backdrop, everything, you kinda catch yourself staring around sometimes. I thought it was awesome. It was really cool to get a chance to play out there and see the stuff you see on TV. It lived up to the hype.â€

Menser’s pinch-me moment? Playing the Road Hole, the challenging par-4 17th, where he says hitting a blind tee shot over a hotel was, “pretty cool.â€

California, Princeton lift St Andrews Links trophy

Watch the St Andrews Links Collegiate trophy presentations for the California-Beverley women’s and Princeton men’s teams.

Mother Nature even pulled out all the stops Wednesday as the sun shone through for the first time all week. Calm conditions and temperatures in the mid-50s added another layer of perfection to an unforgettable day of golf after a memorable week of experiences.

Monday evening, St. Andrews University hosted a dinner on their campus followed by a guided tour with one of the school’s historians, who led all four teams through the streets of St. Andrews which, by night, has a mysterious aura in which shadows dance across the town’s cathedral ruins and the remnants of its castle.

The tour culminated in another bucket-list opportunity – a chance to step inside the ultra-private and exclusive Royal and Ancient clubhouse, which typically opens to the public a single day each year. While inside, students observed the R&A’s original championship trophies, a display of golf clubs and balls throughout the game’s history, and portraits of legendary members alongside Queen Elizabeth II, who visited the club herself. Is this real life? For the Americans who made the trip, not hardly.

Wednesday afternoon as shadows began to grow long across the 18th green, freshman Michelle Woo made a closing birdie to secure the women’s team championship for Cal-Berkeley.

“This week has been amazing from start to finish. I’m almost speechless,†said Cal Head Coach Sofie Aagaard. “We are playing on some sacred grounds, can we call it, at the St. Andrews Old Course and the Jubilee Course. And I think, just a great perspective of how far we’ve come in women’s golf and that we get to compete on the Old Course on the final day, it’s been absolutely amazing.â€

Princeton captured the men’s team championship with Reed Greyserman, who won the men’s individual title Tuesday, leading the way.

“It’s kinda hard to talk about it really, to be here on a day like today,†said Princeton Head Coach Will Green while standing on the 18th green. “It’s magical. It really is.â€

As the two teams hoisted their silver trophies, it marked the culmination of a unique week and a tournament experience no one will forget, because the St. Andrews Links Collegiate is not your average college golf tournament. But how could it be? In a place as special as St. Andrews.

Golf

Robert MacIntyre, off Ryder win, claims Dunhill Links title

Robert MacIntyre won the Dunhill Links Championship on Sunday for a second European tour title in as many years in his native Scotland, completing a successful homecoming after being part of Team Europe’s victory in the Ryder Cup last week.

MacIntyre shot a third straight 6-under 66, this time on the Old Course at St. Andrews having also done so at Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, to complete a four-stroke victory at the home of golf and become the first Scottish player in 20 years to lift the Alfred Dunhill Links title.

“Just a beautiful ending to a good week,” MacIntyre said. “I don’t know how we’re going to celebrate after the celebrations we had last Sunday. We’ll try our best.”

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The third round was postponed Saturday because of stormy weather, making the event — a pro-am played over three of Scotland’s top links courses — a 54-hole tournament.

The No. 9-ranked MacIntyre, who finished the week at 18-under par, won the Scottish Open last year at The Renaissance Club — his previous victory in individual play. He earned 1½ points for the Europeans last week in their Ryder Cup win at Bethpage Black, where MacIntyre encountered much more hostile conditions than he did back home this week.

MacIntyre mastered the links by staying largely out of trouble — chiefly by avoiding the pot bunkers dotted around the courses — having arrived in Scotland with expectations hardly at their highest.

“I had a laugh when we were driving the buggy back down to the clubhouse,” MacIntyre said. “I’ve done everything against the book this week, from preparation. I pitched up Wednesday afternoon. I know the golf courses. Played 12 holes on Wednesday. The diet has not been good this week — I can confirm that. I’ve eaten plenty of takeaways, fish and chips, plenty of others.

“But yeah, sometimes when you are least expecting it, things happen.”

Defending champion Tyrrell Hatton, another member of Team Europe, shot 65 at St. Andrews and jumped into second place, one stroke better than John Parry (66 at St. Andrews) and Richard Sterne (71 at Carnoustie).

Tommy Fleetwood, Europe’s top scorer in New York with four points, shot 70 on the Old Course and finished at 9 under — nine strokes behind MacIntyre.

Among the celebrities playing the pro-am were Bill Murray, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, while there was sporting royalty in hockey great Wayne Gretzky.

The Associated Press and PA contributed to this report.

Scot Robert MacIntyre follows Ryder Cup victory with win on Old Course at Dunhill Links

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Robert MacIntyre won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Sunday for a second DP World Tour title in as many years in his native Scotland, completing a successful homecoming after being part of Team Europe’s victory in the Ryder Cup last week.

MacIntyre shot a third straight 6-under 66, this time on the Old Course at St. Andrews having also done so at Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, to complete a four-stroke victory at the home of golf.

The third round was postponed on Saturday because of stormy weather, making the event — a pro-am played over three of Scotland’s top links courses — a 54-hole tournament.

The No. 9-ranked MacIntyre, who finished the week on 18-under par, won the Scottish Open last year at The Renaissance Club — his previous victory in individual play. He earned 1 1/2 points for the Europeans last week in their win in the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, where MacIntyre encountered much more hostile conditions than he did back home this week.

Defending champion Tyrrell Hatton, another member of Team Europe, shot 65 at St. Andrews and jumped into second place — one stroke better than John Parry (66 at St. Andrews) and Richard Sterne (71 at Carnoustie).

Tommy Fleetwood, Europe’s top scorer in New York with four points, shot 70 on the Old Course and finished on 9 under — nine strokes off MacIntyre.

Among the celebrities playing the pro-am were Bill Murray, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, while there was sporting royalty in hockey great Wayne Gretzky.

Golf

Dustin Johnson fires 64 at Carnoustie to sit one off lead at Alfred Dunhill Links

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Ryan Brehm made his Alfred Dunhill Links Championship debut with a 63 on the only course he didn’t play in practice to share the lead. Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood and a Ryder Cup quartet of stars played on fumes and held up quite nicely Thursday.

The other surprise from the opening round was Dustin Johnson with a 64 at Carnoustie that left the former world No. 1 just one shot out of the lead in his return to this tournament for the first time in 13 years.

The pro-am held over three links — Scotland’s version of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am — was just the right tonic for the four Team Europe players who went from the euphoria of beating the Americans at Bethpage Black to amateur partners like Bill Murray and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Hatton and Robert MacIntyre at 66, and Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick at 67, all received a rousing cheer at Carnoustie to celebrate Europe’s fifth road victory in the Ryder Cup, this one the most taxing given the obnoxious New York crowd and a U.S. comeback that fell short.

“It was brilliant. I’ve never see the first tee like this at the Dunhill before,†said MacIntyre, who grew up on the other side of Scotland in Oban.

“This week I’m trying to enjoy myself. I’m trying not to be that stressed out about it, that overly focused, kind of just take the rough with the smooth,†MacIntyre said. “It was a decent start.â€

Brehm is a big hitter from Michigan whose lone PGA Tour victory was in the Puerto Rico Open three years ago. He is playing under a category for five PGA Tour players who finished from Nos. 126 to 200 in the FedExCup last year.

Arriving with wife Chelsey, they walked Kingsbarns when they landed and played practice rounds at Carnoustie and St. Andrews. Then he had seven birdies and an eagle at Kingsbarns to share the lead with Matthew Jordan (63 at St. Andrews) and Darius Van Driel (63 at Kingsbarns).

“This is my first time over here, and I was pretty much in awe on every fairway — and I hit a lot of fairways, which is kind of rare for me,†Brehm said.

The conditions were ideal, though rain and wind more typical of Scotland in October was expected over the next few days. Brehm wasn’t sure what to expect from his own golf. He heads to the Old Course on Friday, a tougher test in nasty weather.

“What’s interesting is I wish I didn’t play any of them now because this is the only one I didn’t play,†Brehm said of Kingsbarns.

Johnson, one of 17 players from LIV Golf in the field, has been playing more out of the Saudi league although he had not been to the Dunhill Links since 2012. He played with his father-in-law, hockey great Wayne Gretzky, who used to be his regular partner back in the Pebble Beach days. His score was nearly five shots below the average at Carnoustie.

“Generally haven’t played that well around here, so it’s nice to get a good score in,†said Johnson, who missed the cut at Carnoustie during the 2018 Open when he was No. 1 in the world.