Ashes of Sir Sean Connery to be scattered on Scottish golf course

The ashes of the late Sir Sean Connery are to be scattered on a Scottish golf course, according to his widow.

Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Micheline Roquebrune – who was married to the James Bond star for over 45 years – said that the Hollywood icon would have approved of the decision.

It is not yet clear which golf course will be chosen as Connery’s final resting place but the Old Course at St Andrews and Bruntsfield Links in Edinburgh are both thought to be in the equation.

Connery was a member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and regularly played the Old Course, whilst he grew up just down the road from Bruntsfield Links – one of the world’s oldest golf courses – and attended Bruntsfield Primary School.

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“He was at his happiest on a golf course, so, as soon as it is possible to travel due to the pandemic, we will come to Scotland as a family and will bring the ashes of Sean,” said Micheline. “I hope to scatter them on a golf course in Scotland as he always loved playing there.”

Connery, best known for playing James Bond in six official 007 capers on the big screen, died peacefully in his sleep at his home in the Bahamas on October 31 having been unwell for some time.

In a career that spanned five decades, his body of work also included the likes of The Rock, The Hunt For Red October, Highlander, Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade and The Untouchables. The latter earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1988.

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Away from the silver screen, Connery was a golf fanatic, who took up the game for a famous scene in Goldfinger in which Bond takes on the titular villain at Stoke Park Golf Club. He would go on to become a regular in celebrity events and pro-ams.

In his 2008 book ‘Being A Scot’, Connery detailed how he fell for the royal and ancient game.

He wrote: “I never had a hankering to play golf, despite growing up in Scotland just down the road from Bruntsfield Links. It wasn’t until I was taught enough golf to look as though I could outwit the accomplished golfer Gert Frobe in Goldfinger that I got the bug.

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“I began to take lessons on a course near the Pinewood film studios, and was immediately hooked on the game. Soon it would nearly take over my life. I began to see golf as a metaphor for living, for in golf you are basically on your own, competing against yourself and always trying to do better. If you cheat, you will be the loser, because you are cheating yourself.”