NEWS RELEASE 12 September 2003

EUROPE IN 2003 dunhill links championship

First time on Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns
Micheel to be joined by father Buck Micheel in tournament
Strong field includes Els, Clarke, Singh, Price, Montgomerie, Harrington
Top golf stars playing for US$5 million prize fund
Championship dates: Thursday, September 25 - Sunday, September 28, 2003

Shaun Micheel, dramatic winner of the US PGA Championship at Oak Hill last month, is to play in the 2003 dunhill links championship from Sept 25-28 - his first ever tournament appearance in Europe.

Micheel, who produced one of the most memorable finishes ever seen in a major championship with a magnificent 7-iron to within a few inches of the 18th hole for a birdie, will also be tasting traditional Scottish links golf for the first time.

Micheel, 34, from Memphis, Tennessee, says he is looking forward immensely to the challenge. "I have never played golf in Europe and this opportunity to play the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns is going to be a memorable beginning. I am really looking forward to playing in front of the Scottish galleries.

"Coming to the dunhill links championship will give me a wonderful opportunity to play links golf and compete with the finest players on the European Tour. Playing links golf will be a new challenge for me as it is for most American players who go over for the first time.

"The courses in Scotland are very different to those we play in the United States and I look forward to the challenge of hard fast fairways and pot bunkers.

"The Old Course is the most famous golf course in the world and it's always been an ambition of mine to play it. Everyone dreams about playing this course," he added.

Micheel will be facing one of the strongest line-ups on the European Tour this year. In addition to Irish Ryder Cup star Padraig Harrington who is returning to Scotland to defend his 2002 dunhill links championship title, the field includes World No 2 Ernie Els, winner of last week's Omega European Masters, Darren Clarke, winner of $1 million in the NEC Invitational last month, Colin Montgomerie, star of the 2002 Ryder Cup and winner of the European Order of Merit seven times, World No 4 Vijay Singh, three-time major championship winner Nick Price, England's greatest golfer of the modern age Nick Faldo, currently enjoying a golfing resurgence, Paul Lawrie, Open champion at Carnoustie in 1999 and winner of the dunhill links championship in 2001, and Spanish ace Jose Maria Olazabal, the 1994 US Masters champion.

Thanks to the unique format of the dunhill links championship, Micheel will also have the opportunity to play in the same tournament as his father Buck Micheel, a retired airline pilot who plays off six handicap.

"Playing in the same tournament as my father is such an incredible opportunity. Opportunities such as this do not happen that often and both my Dad and I are very excited to be playing in this event. My father started me in golf when I was nine years old. He has been the biggest influence on my career. We are both really excited," he added.

The tournament, conceived as a celebration of links golf, is played over three of the world's best known and respected links courses - The Old Course at St Andrews, the Championship Course at Carnoustie and the highly regarded Kingsbarns Golf Links - from Thursday September 25 - Sunday, September 28,

Joining the professionals will be a plethora of talented amateur golfers including Samuel L Jackson, star of over 50 Hollywood films including the cult Quentin Tarantino hit Pulp Fiction.

Jackson is joined by: Ian Botham, England's most outstanding all round cricketer and Laureus World Sports Academy member; Zinzan Brooke, legendary All Blacks rugby powerhouse; Sir Bobby Charlton, English football's most respected luminary and Laureus World Sports Academy member, Kenny Dalglish, footballer and manager who played 102 times for Scotland; Andrew Flintoff, England cricket's most explosive all-rounder; Alan Hansen, former Scotland player and now TV pundit; Gary Lineker, former England striker, now TV presenter; Michael Lynagh, Australian rugby union legend; Nigel Mansell, former British Formula One world champion; Sir Steven Redgrave, five-times Olympic rowing gold medallist and winner of the 2001 Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award; Tico Torres, drummer of top rock band Bon Jovi and Clay Walker, America's multi-million album selling country singer.

168 teams of one professional and one amateur are to contest the first three rounds, with one round being played at each of the three links courses in rotation. Two competitions are played concurrently - Professional Individual and Team.

The team score will be the best net score of the two players at each hole. After 54 holes the field reduces to the leading 60 professionals and ties plus the 20 leading teams, all of whom play the final round over the Old Course at St. Andrews. A list of entries in this year's championship will be released in September.

Prize money will be US$5million (approx. €4,336,192 / £3,022,000) with US$4,800,000 (approx. €4,162,745 / £2,901,100) rewarding the leading 70 pros based on their individual scores, and a further US$200,000 (approx. €173,440 / £120,890) for the professionals on the leading 20 teams. First place in the individual competition will be an end of season bonanza of US$800,000 (approx. €693,765 / £483,550).

Play will be in four-ball groups and in order to accommodate as many players as practical, all four rounds will start from both the first and tenth tees at all courses.

Eligibility for the 168 professional field will be as follows:

" The top 50 from the Official World Rankings at August 25, 2003
" The leading 12 players from within the top 20 of each of the final 2002 Asian PGA Tour Order of Merit, the final 2002 Australasian Tour Order of Merit, and the 2002/2003 Sunshine Tour Order of Merit, who are not otherwise qualified from the Official World Golf Ranking
" 20 sponsor invitations
" Balance of the field will be completed in accordance with the 2002 European Tour Exemption Category List

The dunhill links championship will be televised live on SKY SPORTS TV, the Golf Channel in the USA and Japan, on M-Net in South Africa and in another 120 countries.

Entrance to the dunhill links championship is complimentary on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the tournament. A ticket price of £15 (concessionary £8) will be charged for Sunday. Under 16's and students are free. Parking is free. A free bus service will operate between courses.

Tickets are available through the ticket hotline on 0870 010 9021.

For further media information, please contact:

Nina Fiddian-Green
dunhill links championship Media Office
Tel: +44 (0)20 7514 2858
Fax: +44 (0)20 7514 2782
Email: golfpr@richemont.com
http://www.dunhilllinks.com

Bill Shaw
Catchline PR and Communications
Tel: +44 (0)1592 643 200
Mob: +44 (0)7974 720 669
Email: bshaw@catchline.co.uk