© Getty Images Sport – Stuart Franklin / Staff
This Thursday the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship got underway, a DP World Tour tournament wrapped in a special mystique. First, because of its location, as it is played on three of the most legendary courses in Scotland: Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and the Old Course of St.
Andrews. And also because of its atypical format during the year, with the 168 professionals forming a team with 168 amateurs. Some of these fans are relatives or acquaintances of the players, like Billy Horschel, who plays with his wife Brittany, and many others are celebrities.
Gareth Bale, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Bill Murray are some of the big draws of an event that, in its official classification, is co-led by the Spanish Adri Arnaus, who completed a great initial round of eight under par.
Gareth Bale, results
The 28-year-old Catalan started in Scotland in a big way.
The draw saw him play his first round at Carnoustie Golf Links, a historic track that has been home to the British Open eight times. And Arnaus delivered a bogey-free card, with six birdies and a great eagle at the 14th to be the best round of the day on the course and become co-leader of the tournament.
Adri shares first place, at -8, with the Swede Sebastian Söderberg and the American Peter Uihlein, both with their initial day played in St. Andrews. Arnaus is also playing these days with the Cuban-American actor Andy García, known for his roles in films such as The Godfather III or Ocean’s Eleven.
The duo formed by Arnaus and García is 22nd in the Pro-Am classification, in which the best result of the couple in each hole played is counted, with -9. This table is commanded at -13 by Swedish golfer Jens Dantorp and British businessman Ric Lewis.
“Watching Adri play, he is an extraordinary golfer. We played a few years ago, he played with Tico Torres, we were in the same foursome. So I was very happy when I found out that I was going to play with him,” García commented after Thursday’s return.
In the event with amateurs, the participation of stars of all kinds is striking, such as former footballer Gareth Bale. The Welshman, a great golf lover, continues to make his first steps in this sport. If last week he played the Ryder Cup All Star in Marco Simone (Rome, Italy), the former Real Madrid player has been paired since this Thursday with the Frenchman Romain Langasque, with whom he is 74th at -6.
Actor Bill Murray also participates, who left flashes of quality during his journey together with Oliver Wilson. In addition, there are three professionals in the Alfred Dunhill who have barely had a rest after winning the Ryder Cup last week: the English Tommy Fleetwood (45th with -3 in the professional classification) and Matt Fitzpatrick (23rd with -5), who plays with his mother Susan and in front of his brother Alex, and the Scot Robert MacIntyre (60th with -2).
Of the rest of the Spanish participation, Nacho Elvira is the best placed after Arnaus, 10th with -6. They are followed by Jorge Campillo, Alejandro del Rey (-3 both), Rafa Cabrera Bello, Santi Tarrío (+1), Ángel Hidalgo and Sebas García (+3).
Co-leader Arnaus will play tomorrow at Kingsbarns, starting at 10:33 in Spain, in a match that he, along with Andy García, will share with the Horschel couple.
