What makes this tournament so different? Well to start, it's played at three separate courses over the course of the four day event; Kingsbarn Golf Links, Carnoustie Golf Links, and the Old Course at St. Andrews, with all Sunday rounds being played at St. Andrews. Over the course of the tournament, players travel from course to course to play their round for the day. You'll also notice that these courses are all in links-style, which always makes for a much more interesting round of golf.
This tournament is also a pro-am (similar to the AT&T National Pro-Am) meaning that amateur golfers (usually celebrities or persons of note) get the chance to play on a team with professional golfers. Thus there are two parts to this tournament, the individual (professional) part, which is just like a normal professional tournament where the lowest combined 4-day score wins with a monetary reward (one of the largest on the European Tour). The last part is the pro-am portion where a single amateur is paired with a single pro, and the pro-am duo with the lowest score wins this portion of the tournament. Both parts are played consecutively and both the pro and the amateur travel from course to course.
Lastly, this tournament is special since part of it is played at the Old Course at St. Andrews, the physical home of golf. It's filled with so much history and the course itself is such an icon in the golfing world. In fact, the British Open will be returning to St. Andrews in 2015; it was last held there in 2010.
There will also be several Ryder Cup members playing this tournament as well, including European Captain Paul McGinley. The likes of Rory McIlroy, Stephen Gallacher, Martin Kaymer, Vice-Captain Padraig Harrington, Victor Dubuisson, as well as Ryder Cup Royalty Colin Montgomerie and Sir Nick Faldo.
Given that, here is who we think will win the individual part of the tournament:
1) Victor Dubuisson
2) Martin Kaymer
3) Simon Dyson
It's risky choosing Kaymer and Dubuisson. They might still be on a high from winning the Ryder Cup (hopefully this means better golf), or they'll be drained from it. We'll have to wait and see...
Stay tuned for our weekend update of the tournament on Friday,
-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews
The famous 700-year old Swilcan Bridge at the Old Course at St. Andrews
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