St Andrews’ new captain drives in

The traditional ‘driving in’ ceremony for the new captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews has taken place on the first tee of the Old Course.

George Macgregor stepped into the role on Saturday September 19, and began his year in office with a drive at 8am at St Andrews as a cannon fired alongside the tee.

A large crowd of spectators gathered to watch the ceremony, and Macgregor didn’t disappoint, hitting a long drive down the middle of the fairway that finished just short of the Swilcan Burn.

“It’s a pretty unique tradition in the world of golf.” – George MacGregor

As captain, Macgregor will represent the R&A and support its work in developing golf around the globe. He will also attend R&A Championships in the professional and amateur games and take up an ambassadorial role for the club.

After hitting his tee shot, Macgregor spoke of his excitement at being made captain of St Andrews‘ Old Course, and his hopes of continuing his predecessor’s good work.

“It’s a pretty unique tradition in the world of golf,” he said. “To be captain is a fantastic honour and I am very much looking forward to it. The R&A is making great strides within that with a range of initiatives in different parts of the world.

“I think my role is to build on the work that previous captains have done. Sandy Dawson, whom I am following, has travelled thousands of miles around the world and has made a great effort to go out there and meet with golfers and organisations all over the world. That’s an important part of this role.”

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Born in 1944 in Roslin, Midlothian, George Macgregor is one of Scotland’s most successful amateur golfers. He represented Great Britain and Ireland on five occasions at the Walker Cup and also served as captain in 1991 and 1993.

His Scotland international career spanned 18 years and he won the Scottish Strokeplay Championship in 1982, the same year he reached the final of the Scottish Amateur Championship.

MacGregor has served on The R&A’s Championship, Amateur Status and Selection committees and has been the director of championships at the Scottish Golf Union since 2010. He was awarded an OBE in 1996 for services to amateur golf.

Caddie wins second St Andrews gold sovereign

Part of the tradition of the St Andrews ‘driving in’ a gold sovereign is paid by the new captain to buy his golf ball back from the caddie who returns it.

Oliver Horovitz, now in his ninth season on the links, successfully returned the captain’s ball for the second time after also getting his hands on 2011-2012 captain Alistair Low ball.

“This sovereign is going up on the mantelpiece next to the other one. It’s a big honour.” – Oliver Horovitz

The 28-year-old writer and filmmaker from New York was delighted to have earned the honour once again.

“I completely lost sight of it and then I heard it hit down and I just charged after it,” said Horovitz. “When I read that he was a five-time Walker Cup player I knew it was going to be a good drive.

“The last time I caught it on the fly and my hand swelled up to twice the size, so this time was a little less dramatic. This sovereign is going up on the mantelpiece next to the other one. It’s a big honour.”