Fifty Shades of Grey star Jamie Dornan has returned to the Carnoustie Links where he watched the 1999 Open as a 17-year-old.
Dornan – who hails from the same Northern Irish town as Rory McIlroy – watched from the gallery when Frenchman Jean van de Velde infamously blew a three-shot lead on the final hole,
The 33-year-old actor is making his second appearance at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship which is played across Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and St Andrews.
Dornan, who is a member of Royal Belfast, has been playing golf since the age of 11 and plays regularly with his father or friends when he’s back in the UK.
He said: “I was here in 1999 when Jean van de Velde was having fun in the burn there and Paul Lawrie took it home.
“I was 17 years old and stood here on the 18th green watching all this happen.”
Dornan was playing with American professional Peter Uihlein in the Team Championship.
“It’s quite daunting,” he said. “The idea is to try and learn something from them and I think I have.”
The championship incorporates two separate competitions an individual professional tournament for the world’s leading golfers and a team event in which the professionals are paired with the amateur golfers.
Notting Hill star Hugh Grant was also in action at Carnoustie on Friday, although it was the sporting greats that took centre stage on the famous links course.
Sir Steve Regrave, Sir Ian Botham, Shane Warne, Johan Cruyff, Brian O’Driscoll, Kevin Pietersen, Alessandro del Piero and Andriy Shevchenko were among the big sporting names on show.
Former Chelsea and AC Milan striker Shevchenko – who plays off scratch – said he was a little nervous but also very excited.
The 39-year-old – who won both the Champions League and Ballon d’Or during his career – is a member of Queenwood Golf Club near his home at Wentworth in Surrey.
He said he plays golf left-handed, despite being right-footed, which, he said, is a consequence of his days playing ice hockey as a youngster in Kiev.
“This is my first time playing this tournament and I am so happy to be here,” he said. “I have to thank the Championship Committee for inviting me to play.
“Over the last three years I’ve spent a lot of time on the golf course and my game has improved a lot.”
England cricketer Kevin Pietersen said the experience of playing the Alfred Dunhill Links was like a Test match at Lord’s.
He said: “We are very lucky to get to play with these professionals. It’s like someone coming out to bat in a Test match with me.”
Sir Ian Botham has played in every Alfred Dunhill Links Championship since the format began in 2001 – but he insisted the pros remain the real stars.
He said: “If I can contribute that’s fine. But on the course they show you why they are pros and you are amateurs.”
A dazzling fireworks display will tonight celebrate the 15th year the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship has been staged in St Andrews.
An annual favourite with golfers, spectators and St Andrews residents alike, the display will begin at 8.25pm and take place on the West Sands, adjacent to the Old Course.
All residents and visitors in the town are invited to watch the show, which will be best viewed from the Links Road, the roadway running behind the 17th green on the Old Course, and from the track in front of the Old Course Hotel.
The tournament continues, with the final day’s play at St Andrews on Sunday.