Latest news with #AlfredDunhillLinksChampionship
Scotsman
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
Two big-name LIV Golf players heading to Scotland for Dunhill Links
Brooks Koepka being joined by debutant Bubba Watson in DP World Tour Pro-Am Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka is heading back to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and will be joined in this year's edition by fellow LIV Golf player Bubba Watson. Koepka will be making his fifth appearance in the DP World Tour Pro-Am, having finished runner-up in 2014, the year after he won the Scottish Challenge at Spey Valley in Aviemore. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'The atmosphere on and off the course at the Dunhill is fantastic,' said the American. 'I was able to play with my father one year and my good friend and caddie, Ricky Elliott, the other. Those two weeks will always be very special to me. I love links golf and St Andrews is my favourite course in the world.' Brooks Kopeka pictured playing at Carnoustie on one of his previous appearances in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship | Contributed Watson, a two-time Masters champion, will be playing in the event, which is staged at Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and St Andrews, for the first time. 'I've heard so much about the event and I'm really looking forward to playing,' said the American. 'St Andrews is one of the most special and historic golfing locations in the world and Carnoustie is among the greatest Open Championship courses. 'Kingsbarns is a beautiful layout and a challenge in the wind. I'm also excited to have my wife, Angie, there with me and get to play with her, too. All in all, I think we are in for a great week.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The duo will join England's Tyrrell Hatton, who will be defending the title after landing it for a record third time last year.
The Herald Scotland
7 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Swiss watchmaker targets openings after Edinburgh launch
His comments came as the watchmaker, which was founded in 1868, opened a boutique on Princes Street in partnership with Scottish jeweller Chisholm Hunter. Mr Grainger-Herr expressed his excitement in securing the site at 99 Princes Street, overlooking Edinburgh Castle, for the brand's first standalone boutique in Scotland. It builds on the brand's association with the country which has been forged through its long-running status as official timing partner to golf's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. This year's tournament will take place at the Old Course in St Andrews and Kingsbarns in October. Mr Grainger-Herr declared the company, which collaborated with Cloister Watch Company for a piece worn by Brad Pitt's character, Sonny Hayes, in current film F1, would 'absolutely' look at similar openings elsewhere in Scotland. 'We are taking the same approach to most of Europe at the moment,' he said. 'We are seeing an increased regionalisation in many parts of Europe when it comes to where the hotspots are for luxury retail. Five, 10 years ago you just used to go to the main centres, being London and Paris and so on. Now we see a new crop of cities that are developing. 'People's changing lifestyles and being more flexible in their working arrangements now means that we are seeing many cities like Edinburgh become a major hotspot for luxury shopping. That's why, across the UK, in England as well as in Scotland, we are looking at opening boutiques in cities beyond the traditional capital cities. We are seeing a good amount of regionalisation, and it is the same in Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, all over the place. We are seeing second cities coming on quite strongly.' Read more: Mr Grainger-Herr told The Herald that the brand's long association as the official timing partner for the Dunhill Links had opened its eyes to the prospect of having a 'more permanent representation' and offering a 'more complete brand experience to what we had before' in Scotland. He also flagged the attraction of the 'great retail infrastructure' in [[Edinburgh]], as well as in Glasgow. 'We are super pleased to have opened with Chisholm Hunter and having a really nice space here on the corner of Princes Street, looking straight at the castle which us absolutely beautiful,' he said. Asked how the partnership with Chisholm Hunter works in practice, Mr Grainger-Herr replied that it is 'very much a standard watchmaking model, in the sense that we have a lot of our external boutiques that are operated by our retail partners, who would also have multi-brand stores'. He explained: 'If you got to Chisholm Hunter in Dundee, for example, you will find a multi-brand store… it is the same established partners that often will co-invest with us into boutiques that we then run on an external basis to just be able to offer [a] more complete brand experience to our customers. There is a more complete collection [and] there are obviously boutique-exclusive pieces which are only available through the mono-brand boutiques. That would mean somebody like Chisholm Hunter would have a more complete collection representation than they would necessarily have in a multi-brand [store]. It is a win-win for both to co-invest into a model like that.' The new boutique, which is currently displaying the watch with the green dial worn by Brad Pitt in F1, is based close to Chisholm Hunter's 'excellent' multi-brand store in Edinburgh. Mr Grainger-Herr said the reinvigoration of the retail offer on Princes Street was a key part of the attraction. 'It is fantastic to be able to get access to a location like this,' he said. 'It is often the local partners that have the on-the-ground knowledge that helps to secure key locations like that, and their knowledge of what works and what doesn't. (Image: IWC Schaffhausen) Christoph Grainger-Herr 'We have seen that in many of the cities we have opened boutiques recently – that kind of relationship helps a lot. Reinvigorating the retail scape on Princes Street has been important as well, with multiple shopping points emerging. I think Princes Street, in terms of the watch offering, has been much upgraded in recent times.' Meanwhile, Mr Grainger-Herr said consumers had generally emerged from the coronavirus pandemic with a 'fantastic knowledge about luxury brands and watches [that we have] never seen before'. He said: 'We see that multi-brand environments are really a very good offering to the sort of customer who has researched a lot more before they actually physically walk into a shop. You have this really nice combination where obviously the retailer brings an existing customer base. 'We have seen since we opened here that we have a transfer of the partner's customer base who have been introduced from the multi-brand [store] or introduced from other brands and then suddenly come to a boutique like this. But also [there are] obviously walk-ins, both local and tourists. In many places in Scotland, tourism from the US is a major driver of the footfall in luxury retail that we see. 'It has been really encouraging since we opened the boutique here on Princes Street to see the amount of actual new customer walk-in business that are just simply attracted by seeing the brand in this triple A location here and coming in to discover.'
Daily Mirror
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Tiger Woods and son Charlie footage emerges as Ryder Cup hero makes bold claim
Tiger Woods has coached his son, Charlie, throughout his development as a golfer and the 16-year-old's game is beginning to look almost identical to his father's Golfing great Sam Torrance has heaped praise on Tiger Woods and his young son, Charlie, highlighting their strikingly similar approach to the game. The Scottish legend, who clinched four Ryder Cup victories with Team Europe, knows a thing or two about family success in golf, having triumphed at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship with his own son, Daniel, in 2003. The dynamic duo of the Woods family have teed off together five times at the PNC Championship, most recently securing a runner-up spot in the 2024 tournament, just behind Bernhard and Jason Langer. Torrance, who has previously lauded the pair's bond on the course, remains captivated by Charlie's burgeoning talent, especially after the youngster's victory at the Team TaylorMade Invitational in May. Speaking exclusively to Mirror US, courtesy of Lottoland, Torrance reiterated his admiration for the teen golfer: "I just know how good the boy is. "When I said that about his father and son thing, I was very lucky to win the Dunhill with my son. "So I know how special it is to have a boy of your own that can play the game and Charlie looks magnificent." Torrance also noted the uncanny resemblance between Charlie and his legendary father on the course. He said: "I mean, if you've seen the clips of the two of them together, it's like little and large. They do exactly the same thing. The way they lean on the putter, the way they swing. "There's no finer tutor than Tiger Woods to his son. I was very fortunate to have my father teach me my whole life, and there's nothing better than having someone that loves you teaching you." Woods is expected to be in a familiar setting come August, potentially supporting his son at the AJGA Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass' Players Stadium Course. This is the same course where Woods celebrated his Players Championship victories in 2001 and 2013, reports the Mirror US. Torrance, who previously praised Woods' then-13 year old son during the Notah Begay III Junior National Golf Championship, believes the young golfer has an excellent role model and coach in his father. "There's nothing better (for Tiger) and, christ, he's got a machine there, I think," Torrance stated. "It will be nice to see how that develops because he couldn't get a better coach. "He'll obviously have all the practice facilities etc he'll ever need. He'll not want for a thing in his life, but he's got a great wee swing and the mannerisms they share is quite extraordinary."
Newsweek
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Newsweek
Scottish Open: Rory McIlroy Grinds Through "Scrappy Start" to Stay in Contention
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. "Golf is hard" is probably the most popular phrase among fans of the sport, and even top players are no exception. So it's no surprise that a star like Rory McIlroy didn't soften his performance during the first round of the Scottish Open: "It was a scrappy start," he summed it up. It's fair to say that things improved markedly for the Northern Irishman as the day progressed. "I definitely finished the round better than I started it," he said. "Felt like it was a bit of a slow I felt like as the round went on I was getting a little more comfortable and a little more used to what we're going to face this week and next week as well." Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts on the 18th green on day one of the Genesis Scottish Open 2025 at The Renaissance Club on July 10, 2025 in North Berwick, Scotland. Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts on the 18th green on day one of the Genesis Scottish Open 2025 at The Renaissance Club on July 10, 2025 in North Berwick, assessing his upward trend during the round, the five-time major winner mentioned the two aspects that marked his luck during the day: "I was saying to the guys over there, I struggled a bit in left-to-right wind," he said. "Right-to-left winds I was okay with. But seemed like the holes I got myself in trouble was when the wind was to the left..." "Just getting used to the green speeds and the conditions, and it's a little bit of an adjustment when you've played so much golf over in the States when the greens are that much quicker and conditions are just a little bit different," he added. McIlroy has not played links golf in Europe in official tournaments since the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in October 2024. Rory McIlroy's Hard Work Kept Him in Contention Up until the fifth hole, it seemed Rory McIlroy was headed for a round to forget. He had carded a birdie and two bogeys, and with a score of 1-over, and was hovering at the bottom of the leaderboard. However, the Northern Irishman showed that he has a Career Grand Slam under his belt for good reason. After birdieing the sixth hole to level his score, he strung together eight consecutive pars, putting the instability of the start of the round behind him. He bogeyed the 15th after sending his tee shot into a fairway bunker, but responded by birdieing the final three holes consecutively to finish at 2-under. "All you can do is play the conditions that are there and that are put in front of you," he said in assessing his performance. "And if there's an opportunity this week to be aggressive, you have to be. We're still trying to win the golf tournament. You're trying to shoot the lowest score possible." McIlroy will start the second round tied for 33rd. His tee time is 3:28 a.m. Eastern Time. More Golf: Sergio Garcia Admits Getting Warning After Dinner With Ryder Cup Captain
The Herald Scotland
16-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Hotel in St Andrews reveals £1.1m transformation
With global attention turning once again to St Andrews for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship later this summer, and anticipation already building for the next Open the town will host in 2027, the investment ensures that the hotel remains firmly positioned at the forefront of the town's hospitality scene. The newly refreshed guest rooms take their cues from the quiet of the local landscape, with soft muted greens from the surrounding grasslands and earth tones that echo the sand and stone of the coastline. READ MORE: The design retains original, reupholstered woodwork and uses natural materials like rattan to add subtle texture. Andrei Secuianu, General Manager at Hotel du Vin St Andrews, said: 'We are the custodians of a place with great heritage, and we've modernised it with care, drawing on the character of the coastline and the traditions of the town, so that the hotel continues to feel like it belongs not just to guests, but to St Andrews itself. 'St Andrews may be known all over the world, but at its heart, it's a small, close-knit town with a deep sense of community. It's also home to some of the best hospitality in Scotland, and that keeps us striving to evolve.' This project marks a significant milestone in the lifestyle brand's multi-million-pound revitalisation initiative, which has transformed 12 of its 19 properties since the project's inception at One Devonshire Gardens, Glasgow, five years ago. Hotel du Vin St Andrews (Image: Tim Winter) Renovations are already underway at the Henley-on-Thames, Hotel du Vin, which occupies a grade-II listed Georgian building that served as a brewery for 300 years. Scott Harper, COO at Malmaison and Hotel du Vin said: 'In today's hospitality landscape, staying relevant isn't just about investment, it's about intent. "The refurbishment at St Andrews is part of a much wider revitalisation of the Hotel du Vin portfolio, but it also reflects our belief that great hospitality evolves with its environment. "St Andrews is home to some of Scotland's most respected hotels, and to continue to lead in that space means understanding what today's guests value, which is connection, character and a sense of place. "This project is a clear expression of our commitment to thoughtful design, long-term stewardship, and keeping Hotel du Vin at the forefront of the UK lifestyle hotel sector.'
