It’s almost that time of year again. As ‘copters start to land on West Sands, celebrities are spotted out on the lash and suggestive banners are draped from a certain Bell Street flat, a sense of anticipation builds. As is tradition, this week will see some of the world’s most famous names – golfing and non-golfing – descend upon St Andrews to take part in the annual Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. 168 professionals and 168 amateurs playing in teams of two will battle it out on Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and the Old Course in a competition which last year saw English pro David Howell walk away with the top individual prize, and Thomas Levet and David Sayer claim the team title.

The Championship, which runs from 2-5 October, is perhaps best known in St Andrews for the influx of famous folk that the event inevitably entails. While the tournament will see golfing goliaths Rory McIlroy, Padraig Harrington and Ernie Els grace the links in hope of securing the $800,000 prize, also amongst its competitors are some of the leading names in sport, film and TV. Expected to make an appearance are football legends Bobby Charlton and Luis Figo, former cricketers Sir Ian Botham and Shane Warne and, to add to the excitement, St Andrews favourite, Hugh Grant. A more extensive list of some of the most notable competitors can be found here. The competition, traditionally played in a light-hearted spirit, provides ample opportunity to get up close to some of these big names. Two years ago, I was lucky enough to spot Steve Redgrave and Oscar Pistorius making their way around the Old Course. While Redgrave will be making a re-appearance this year, Pistorius was deemed to have shot one triple-bogey too many to make the cut…

Faithful to the good-humoured nature of the tournament, Michael Phelps parodied Happy Gilmore on his way around the Old Course during the 2012 competition. Here’s a video I took: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da8KSkKtD7s

The tournament promises to be a great spectacle for golf lovers and celebrity spotters alike, so get yourself down to the Old Course and catch some of the action!

Image credit: Phillipe Guerindon