SPORT ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP
Links that matter
With 23,000 spectators at the final day alone, the director of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship can reflect on another successful year. But, says Gaye Wolfson, the deeper connections with local communities count as well
BY WILLIAM PEAKIN “W
e have ten sec- onds to catch our breath. Ten we de- brief, plan and
work on other events we are involved in,” said Gaye Wolfson, general man- ager of the event team at Richemont, the luxury goods company that owns Alfred Dunhill, along with Cartier, Montblanc and Chloé. Describing the immediate after-
math of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Wolfson, in her role heading the team which implements the event, says: “We always see what we want to do differently as the event is happening – we are constantly learning. Our over-riding objective is to make it better every year.”
More than 23,000 people descend-
ed on three of Scotland’s links golf courses to watch the final day of the championship in October. Unique on the European Tour, the champi- onship is staged with professionals playing alongside celebrities and amateur golfers. As well as professionals such as
Martin Kaymer, Lee Westwood and Paul Lawrie, the four-day tourna- ment featured actors Andy Garcia, Hugh Grant, Jamie Dornan, musician Ronan Keating and sportsmen Sir Ian Botham and Sir Steve Redgrave teeing off at St Andrews Old Course, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie.
VISITSCOTLANDHAS credited the competition, which came to a dra- matic end when Denmark’s Torb- jorn Olesen claimed the top prize,
20 | EVENTSBASE | WINTER 2015
with helping raise the profile of golf among less traditional audiences and promoting Scotland as a leading golf- ing destination. Te championship also marked
the end of a spectacular summer of golf in Scotland, which included the 144th Open at St Andrews, the Scottish Open at Gullane and the RICOH’s Women’s British Open at Trump Turnberry. For Wolfson, the challenge is to “create, organise and deliver a memorable experience for all our professionals, amateur guests and the public.” She added: “We also work closely
with our TV partners, Sky Sports in the UK, the Golf Channel in the US and some 50 other broadcast- ers around the world, to convey the uniqueness and special atmosphere to the television audience – we want
‘THE COMPETITION CAME TO A DRAMATIC END WHEN DENMARK’S THORBJORN OLESEN CLAIMED THE TOP PRIZE’
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