Farrell, McFadden, Keating tune up for St Andrews

ST ANDREWS, September 19, 2016 – A collection of great music legends will be hoping to hit the right notes on the golf course next month when they compete in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews.

The stars from diverse generations of rock music will be sharing the fairways with a world-class field of golf professionals in the prestigious Championship which raises substantial funds for charity each year.

Playing for the first time are Linkin Park’s David Farrell, known as Phoenix because of a tattoo he wears, and Brian McFadden, former lead singer of hugely successful band Westlife.

While returning to St Andrews will be music giants Ronan Keating, Huey Lewis and Bon Jovi’s Tico Torres.

Ronan Keating, who led the Team Championship with English professional Graeme Storm for two rounds in 2008, said: “I absolutely love the Alfred Dunhill Links. It really is one of the highlights of the year. To get the chance to play three great golf courses side by side with true professionals in a tournament set-up is unique and very special.”

With a prize fund of US$5 million, the Alfred Dunhill Links incorporates two separate competitions – an individual professional tournament for the world’s leading golfers and the Team Championship in which the professionals are paired with the amateur golfers which creates a unique atmosphere.

This year the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship includes a classic professional line-up of Major Championship winners, including current Masters champion Danny Willett, and members of the European Ryder Cup team. Willett will be flying straight from the Ryder Cup in Hazeltine with Rafa Cabrera Bello, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Martin Kaymer, Thomas Pieters, Lee Westwood and Chris Wood, plus captain Darren Clarke.

Other Major Champions in the field include Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington, Louis Oosthuizen, Graeme McDowell, Paul Lawrie, Angel Cabrera and Y.E.Yang. Also playing are former winner and world No.13 Branden Grace, leading Irish golfer Shane Lowry, Andrew Johnston, now universally known as ‘Beef’, and former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley.

The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, which takes place from October 6-9, celebrates links golf at its finest and is played over three of the world’s best known and respected links courses – the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie and the highly regarded Kingsbarns Golf Links.

In June 2011 the Alfred Dunhill Links Foundation was established as the official Foundation of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. The Foundation is committed to developing young amateur golfers in Scotland and South Africa and also supports the University of St Andrews and the St Andrews Pilgrim Foundation, which refurbishes and preserves historical monuments in the town.