Andy Murray set to mix it with Europe’s Ryder Cup heroes as he plays in a huge golf tournament

Kevin Palmer
Andy Murray at a golf event
Andy Murray wants to enter a golf qualifier as his love of the game continues.

Andy Murray’s golfing adventure is set to go to the next level this week as he tees it up alongside some of Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup team when he takes his place in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, being played in his native Scotland.

Murray is certain to get a huge amount of interest from his adoring home fans, as he puts his golfing prowess on display to a huge crowd in a tournament that will feature a handful of players who were part of Europe’s thrilling win against the USA at Bethpage last weekend.

Murray, who swapped his racket for his golf clubs after retiring from tennis in August 2024 after the Paris Olympics, will be competing in the Team Championship, in which each amateur partners one of the professionals.

“I’m really looking forward to this,” said Murray. “It’s very special to be able to play in a full-blown professional event, and for a Scot like me to be able to do it in Scotland at such a unique location makes it even more exceptional.

“In many ways, the Old Course at St Andrews is very like Centre Court at Wimbledon.

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“They both have the same historic feel and atmosphere that just doesn’t exist in many sporting venues around the world. It will be a pleasure to be able to savour that.”

Murray has suggested he has become ‘obsessed’ with golf since calling time on his tennis career after his played in the 2024 Olympic Games.

The two-time Wimbledon champion played rounds of golf with Carlos Alcaraz during his run to this year’s Wimbledon final, with Murray rejecting some suggestions that he might look to enter professional golf tournaments if he can get his levels to elite level.

“My kids think I’m a golfer. They say, ‘Daddy, why do you play every day?” he said earlier this year.

“I didn’t really play for 12 years because I had a back operation in my mid-twenties and I was sore when I practised. Thankfully, it’s been pretty good since I finished — I think tennis was the main issue — and I just really enjoy it.

“I guess it has filled a bit of a void. It is something to practise and get better at and there are so many different parts of the game you can work on, and I don’t find that boring.

“If I don’t have any commitments, I’ll arrive at 9am and stay there until I have to pick the kids back up from school.

“I think that comes from my career as a professional athlete. I’m used to spending all day at the training centre and going to the gym, doing your physio work, that’s normal for me.

“I know I’m doing more than most, but I’m in a position where I’m able to because I don’t have to work during the week.

“I don’t have ambitions of playing in the Open,” Murray said. “I want to try and play in like the regional qualifying at some stage. A couple of my friends have done it. It would just be a fun thing to do if you got to the level where you’re able to do that. I would do it, but I certainly don’t think I would have any chance of qualifying for the Open.

“I’m fully aware of how good the players that play in those events are and how good the pros are in comparison to amateurs. Even guys that play off +2, 3 are miles off what these guys on the Tour are doing.”

Murray’s competitive instincts are clearly kicking in on the golf course and he has already got his handicap down to a level that will allow him to row the crowds attending this week’s Dunhill Links Championship.

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