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Press and Journal
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Press and Journal
Legends Tour at Trump: The best images from the celebrity pro-am as Andriy Shevchenko, Judy Murray and Brian McFadden hit the links
From footballing royalty to Olympians and reality TV stars, the celebrities were out in force at Trump International Links. A day after US President Donald Trump had opened the new course at the Aberdeenshire venue, it was the turn of some more familiar faces to tee it up at the Cardhu Celebrity Pro-Am. The pro-am is the appetiser before the Legends Tour's flagship tournament – the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship gets under way on Thursday morning – but has become a popular event in its own right among golf fans in the north-east. Irish pop singer Brian McFadden, who rose to fame with Westlife, described the Trump International Links course as 'a real jewel'. He said: 'This is my third or fourth time here. I have great memories as I won here three years ago to qualify for the Legends Tour's grand final in Mauritius. 'In my opinion, this is one of the best golf courses in the world. 'For a links golf course to have that kind of condition on the greens and the fairways is just phenomenal. 'The Scottish people always make us feel so welcome and spoil us rotten. 'It is a really tough field as a lot of the celebrities are very good. 'Robbie Fowler is the most consistent. You never see him far from the top of the leaderboard. 'Keith Duffy is always up there, Teddy Sheringham is a very good golfer and Andriy Shevchenko is incredible. 'It is a tough field – I know when I tee off I won't be winning.' Legendary British athlete Kriss Akabusi was also loving being back in Aberdeenshire for the Legends Tour event. The celebrities were all playing for a nominated charity, with £10,000 going to the winner, £7,500 for second place and £2,500 for third. Akabusi said: 'I always love coming here. It's not the easiest course to play but it is always beautiful. 'I really like the layout of the 12th hole, it's definitely one of my favourites on the course. 'It's important to enjoy yourself and not try to be something that you're not. 'It's great to play the course alongside someone like my playing partner Rich Beem (winner of the 2002 US PGA Championship who now works as an analyst for Sky Sports). 'I told him I had listened to him talk about golf so many times on the TV so it's great to say I have now played a round alongside him.' Former Liverpool and Republic of Ireland defender Jason McAteer says playing golf has helped him adjust to life after football. McAteer, who plays off a very impressive handicap of 1.5, said: 'I came up on Monday with Robbie Fowler and we played Murcar on Tuesday, which was a stunning place. 'I really enjoy my golf. 'When you finish playing football there is a massive void in your life. 'You still have that competitive edge. You want to get better at something and have that discipline. 'Golf is perfect for that. I live on a golf course in Cheshire. That was the compromise with my missus when we moved house. 'I get to go out and play golf most evenings. I like the social side of it. It keeps my mind right.' Teddy Sheringham, a Champions League winner with Manchester United, has also turned to golf and plays off four. He said: 'This is my second time here and I absolutely love it. 'It is stunning and great to play with players such as my pro-am partner Paul McGinley. 'I played Royal Aberdeen a couple of years ago. You have a great word for the fog up here – the haar – and unfortunately that came in and we only got to play about 12 holes but I really liked that course. 'My own golf is up and down but I'm playing a lot. I just spent a couple of days at Loch Lomond, which was stunning. 'It doesn't get much better than playing golf on courses like this.' Former Hibernian manager Alan Stubbs pipped Ukraine legend Andriy Shevchenko to victory in the celebrity pro-am on countback with a winning score of 38 stableford points. The first round of the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship starts at 7.30am with Englishman David Salisbury getting play under way. Host Colin Montgomerie and his playing partner and fellow European Ryder Cup legend Paul McGinley tee off at 8.25am. Aberdeen's Paul Lawrie, the 1999 Open champion, tees off at 1.36pm alongside Englishman Anthony Wall.
Scotsman
06-08-2025
- Climate
- Scotsman
Seven tees moved up for 'flipping hard' test for DP World Tour players on Donald Trump's course
Players will hit drive at 18th in Nexo Championship three sets of tees forward - but it will still play at 586 yards! 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... Martin Laird described it as 'flipping hard' while Calum Hill reckons it is second only to the infamous Hero Indian Open venue in New Delhi in terms of the toughest test on the DP World Tour. When it staged last week's Staysure PGA Seniors Championship, the 36-hole cut fell at 14 over par while only two players finished under par on the Old Course at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Colin Montgomerie, the tournament host, made an early exit following rounds of 79 and 82 while David Drysdale dropped seven shots in his first four holes in an opening 84 as he missed the cut as well. Now, it's the turn of DP World Tour players to tackle the Martin Hawtree-designed course and, unsurprisingly, precautionary measures are being taken by tournament organisers for the $2.75 million Nexo Championship, which starts on Thursday. Ewen Ferguson of Scotland plays from a greenside bunker at the ninth hole during a practice round for the Nexo Championship at Trump International Golf Links |Unlike last week's first leg of a double-header at the Menie Estate venue, crosswinds are not expected to be a major issue due to the wind set to blow from a different direction. It will see the majority of the holes play either into the wind or down wind. Nonetheless, with a breeze forecast to be a mix of moderate or fresh, the decision has been taken to move six tees - the second, third, fourth, 12th, 16th and 17th - up by one set of tees while the elevated one at the 18th will be three sets forward, reducing it from 651 yards to a mere 586 yards. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It's spectacular - but it's flipping hard,' observed Laird, a four-time PGA Tour winner who, on his first DP World Tour appearance since the 2018 Genesis Scottish Open, is among a 14-strong Caledonian contingent that also includes KLM Open winner Connor Syme. It was no surprise that Storm Floris forced the spectacular Donald Trump-owned course to be closed on Monday and, with the wind still blowing hard on Tuesday, Laird didn't even tackle one of the holes in his first practice round. Martin Laird catches a ball on the practice range prior to the Nexo Championship at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire ||'I was saying to my caddie today that they need to get the tees right and, purely for pace of play, they have to move some of them up,' added the 42-year-old. 'On some holes, even if you hit a good drive, you are hitting long irons into small targets with 25-30mph crosswinds, so it almost gets a bit unplayable. 'I don't know how they set it up last week or how the weather was, but I saw the scoring with a 14 over cut. That just shows you what this place is capable of as I have never seen a 14 over cut in my life.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Hill, who won the Joburg Open earlier in the year, paid a visit here along with Connor Syme and Grant Forrest a few weeks back to get themselves prepared for this week's home assignment. 'It was on a day when it was 10mph and 20 degrees, so it felt quite straightforward,' reported Hill. 'Then you arrive Monday and it looks much trickier. 'The difficult thing is it's not like some links course where you get a bit of leeway. Here it's fairways or bushes and it's quite penal. You'll have a lot of reloading. It's very strong off the tee and the greens are slightly upturned, so you have a lot of run-offs. So, if you get it wrong, it could be like ping pong. I think I started triple bogey and double bogey. I didn't know where I was the first few holes. But it was still good fun and nice to see the course.' The intended yardage for this week had been 7,439 yards, but it will now play around 270 yards shorter. Under a newly-announced initiative with title sponsor Nexo, the player who shoots a new course record this week will win $10,000 and, for that to officially count, it has to be on a layout that is no more than 300 yards of the total yardage. 'It's demanding off the tee and even the holes you have straight into the wind and even the crosswind ones, too, there are a few well-positioned bunkers at the 270-300 mark,' observed Hill. 'It depends how friendly they want to be. Do they want to give you a chance of getting past the bunker or is it more strategic? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'The tenth is an awkward hole. You can go for the green, but it's a bit mental. I'll play it as a three-shotter. It can get away from you. There are a few holes that look narrower than they are and then they open up when you get there. You just have to keep it in play.' DLF Country Club, home of the Hero Indian Open, is widely regarded as the toughest test on the DP World Tour. 'It's not quite as extreme as India,' said Hill. 'It's the most extreme in that you hit the fairway or you're in the munch. It's not far off India, mind. But, in India, you don't get the 30mph winds out there. Ask me again on Sunday!' Daniel Young, the newly-crowned Farmfoods Scottish Challenge champion, has played the course more than most people in the field, the exception probably being Aberdonian David Law. 'I have no idea,' he replied to being asked what he thought the scoring might be like. 'But I think after last week they might go cautious to begin with and maybe ramp it up a bit over the weekend. KLM Open winner Connor Syme pictured at Trump International Golf Links |'On a lot of those elevated tee shots in these cross winds, it is so difficult to keep the ball down and just get it in play. Otherwise you are going to be scrambling in the dunes and you could easily lose a ball let alone have your work cut out just to get it back in play.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Scotsman
04-08-2025
- Climate
- Scotsman
Storm Floris forces shutdown at Donald Trump's course in Aberdeen
Preparations for Nexo Championship hit by high winds sweeping across Scotland 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... Storm Floris hit preparations for this week's Nexo Championship, the first DP World Tour event to be held at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire. As winds gusted to 60mph and over at the Menie Estate venue, players were unable to get out on the course from just before lunchtime for a practice round while the practice facilities were also closed around 2pm. 'There is nobody on the course,' reported Jonas Hedberg, the resort's director of golf, as the predicted storm swept across Scotland. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The flags were fluttering at Trump International Golf Links during last week's Staysure PGA Seniors Championship |The strong winds are expected to continue in the Aberdeen area until 4am on Tuesday morning, which still gives players two full days to get prepared for the $2.75 million event. A moderate breeze is then predicted to be blowing for the rest of the week, which will ensure a tough test on the Old Course at the Donald Trump-owned venue. In the first leg of a double-header, only two players finished under par after four rounds in last week's Staysure PGA Seniors Championship, won by American Bo Van Pelt. It was due to play at 6,237 yards before some tees were moved up on Friday, with 7,439 yards being the intended length for this week, though that will be dependent on the weather. 'I went over this morning but just to get yardage books etc - there wasn't much in the way of practice getting done,' said Aberdonian David Law, who will be among 15 Scots teeing up in Thursday's opening round. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I think this week will be very testing. The forecast looks to be quite windy, so I can't see it being a low scoring week. There are so many different tee options for the tour to choose from, but, if we play from the back tees, it will be quite a high- scoring week, I'd imagine.' Fellow Aberdonian Richie Ramsay walked nine holes on Monday morning before retreating indoors as the rain became heavy. 'We are off site now as the winds are so high and they had to shut everything down. That put paid to any practice,' he reported. On walking the course, the four-time tour winner added: 'I feel it is quite crucial to get the lines off the tee but also see where the slopes are around the greens as it is very rippled around the greens and there are more aerial shots than you would normally have coming into the greens on a links course.' Tyrrell Hatton shows off the trophy after winning the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship for a third time last year | Getty Images Meanwhile, three-time winner Tyrrell Hatton is the first player to be confirmed for this year's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, which takes place at Carnoustie, Kingsbarns Links and St Andrews from 2-5 October. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Scotsman
29-07-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Donald Trump in Scotland: Why US president's new course is billed as forming ‘The Greatest 36 Holes of Golf'
Sign up to our Golf 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... Today's opening of a second golf course at US President Donald Trump's venue north of Aberdeen has been hailed as being destined to play a 'very important part in the future of golf in Scotland'. Opened in 2012, the original course at Trump International Golf Links at Menie Estate is gearing up to stage an exciting double-header this summer. For the third year in a row and second in succession with Colin Montgomerie as its host, the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship will take place this week. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad US President Donald Trump attends the opening of the Trump International Golf Links, the president's new golf course on the Menie Estate in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire | PA Next week it will stage its first DP World Tour event in the shape of The Scottish Championship, which will boast a prize fund of $2.75 million [£2.06m]. In addition, this week also marks the opening of a second course, which is being billed as providing a test that will be equal to its neighbour. 'This is a very significant, very special year for us,' said Sarah Malone, executive vice-president of Trump International, as she spoke at a media conference alongside Montgomerie. 'It is a great honour for us to have Colin with us again. He has a great history with this site, having been here on the opening day in 2012 with the Trump family to open our magnificent links. So it is very fitting that he is the host of the Legends Tour event here for the second year. 'It is a milestone year for this asset in the north-east of Scotland. It has been a labour of love for the Trump family. It is held in the highest regard by the family and the organisation. We are immensely proud to be hosting the Legends Tour for the third year. It is a special event that has many components to it. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It is very firmly established in the north-east as a must for spectators, for celebrity spotters. It is very much in people's diaries and it has attracted great sponsors. 'To add to that, we have the DP World Tour event. This is why this site was built. We said at the very outset that we wanted to host tournaments and so this year we are doing back-to-back tournaments and we will also be announcing very soon the opening date of our new championship links course.' The double offering is being billed as 'The Greatest 36 Holes of Golf' and Ms Malone explained why she felt that was the case. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Lisa Ferguson 'It is not the second golf course,' she said. 'It is equal in stature to the existing course, which I can confirm will be known as the Old Course and the New Course, something of a nod to tradition and to make it easy for our golfers to book. 'It is the beginning of a new era for us, having 36 holes is a big thing. It will ensure that golfers will not be too ready to leave the area, which is good news and gives us limitless options and possibilities for tournament and professional play.' Mr Trump, of course, also owns Turnberry, with Mark Darbon, The R&A's new chief executive, having admitted recently that he would like to see The Open return there, though acknowledging that some issues need to be overcome. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In the meantime, though, the golf-mad US President will clearly be delighted to see his other Scottish venue playing host to back-to-back events that should be appealing to fans in the Aberdeen area in particular, but further afield as well. Lisa Ferguson 'The nucleus for this entire site was the Trump family's connection with the ancestral home of Mary Anne McLeod, the president's mother, and the great game of golf,' said Ms Malone. 'It was a visionary project, always a multi-phase project. 'The Trump family has been steadfast in their commitment, irrespective of the backdrop with the economy or the markets. None of that has had an impact on our vision to create a world-glass golf destination that hosts the biggest and best tournaments in the world. 'This year is a milestone for us. It's the completion of two magnificent golf courses. Maybe not quite tomorrow, but I think we could possibly put a tournament out there as it is ready for play. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We have gone to great lengths to ensure that it complements the existing links. That was the benchmark - what a benchmark. Yeah, this is a big year for us and the family are very proud of what we have accomplished and I think it plays a very important part in the future of golf in Scotland.' Montgomerie will be part of a star-studded field for the 2025 Staysure PGA Championship, won by Englishman Robert Coles in a dramatic finish. 'I'm very honoured obviously to be associated with this event again,' said Montgomerie. 'Any event you are associated with that is first-class, five-star is special and this is - the venue and everything about it. 'It was very easy to put my name to this again for a second year out of the three that have been here. I think it is superb, I really do. I might be a bit biased, but I thought it was a great success last year and let's hope this year we can build on that success and make it even better. 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Scotsman
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Home stars confirmed for Scottish Championship at Trump International in Aberdeen
Ewen Ferguson and Connor Syme set to spearhead Scottish challenge in DP World Tour event 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... Recent KLM Open winner Connor Syme and three-time DP World Tour champion Ewen Ferguson are set to spearhead the home challenge in the Scottish Championship this summer. The duo have been confirmed for the $2.75 million event at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire on 7-10 August along with former Genesis Scottish Open winner Rafa Cabrera Bello. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It's fantastic to see the Scottish Championship return to the DP World Tour schedule and I can't wait to tee it up in front of the home crowds,' said Ferguson, who will defend his BMW International Open title in Munich next week. Recent KLM Open winner Connor Syme is looking forward to a home appearance in the Scottish Championship |'DP World Tour events in Scotland are always special for me and I'm very excited to see friends and family lining the fairways to cheer me on.' Syme landed his breakthrough win on the circuit after producing a polished performance to win the KLM Open earlier this month. He said of a home gig later in the summer: 'We always receive such incredible support whenever and wherever we play in Scotland, and I know we are all looking forward to playing in front of Scottish fans at a spectacular links venue in August.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ewen Ferguson, Calum Hill and Rafa Cabrera Bello have all been confirmed for the Scottish Championship | DP World Tour Fans can experience two weeks of world-class golf at the one venue, with the Legends Tour's Staysure PGA Seniors Championship being held the week prior to the Scottish Championship. Those who purchase a ticket to either the Scottish Championship or Staysure PGA Seniors Championship can receive a 25 per cent discount for a ticket to the other event.
