ST ANDREWS (Scotland) – Before this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Robin Williams’ best memory of the famed 18th hole of the Old Course was the amount of times he’d played it on PlayStation. But on Sunday he turned a dream into reality when he birdied the hole to finish tied fourth on debut in this prestigious DP World Tour event.
The 23-year-old South African and young Sunshine Tour star ended a dream week with a 66 on the Old Course for a total of 19 under par. England’s Tyrrell Hatton won the title by a shot on 24 under par, becoming the first player in history to win it three times.
Williams finished as the leading South African in a star-studded field of Major winners, and was overwhelmed by his performance.
“As we walked up 18, my caddie said to me, ‘Just enjoy this moment and soak it in. You’ve played this hole so many times on PlayStation, so just enjoy it and soak it in’. And I did that. And then they introduced us as we walked up. It hasn’t sunk in enough yet. It’s a dream come true. My main goal this week was just to make the cut and enjoy the week, but I managed to play some good golf. I’m just trying to soak it all in,” he said.
It’s certainly been a breakthrough week for the Sunshine Tour golfer who was the Tour’s Fortress Rookie of the Year in the 2023/24 season, and whose second place on the Sunshine Order of Merit delivered by The Courier Guy that season earned him a DP World Tour card for this season.
“It means everything in terms of my confidence. At the start of this year I was at a really low point with my game and kind of questioning a lot of things. To be able to turn it around and be in this situation competing against the big names on such a big stage, it’s mind blowing. I would never have believed it at the start of the year.
“It’s more just seeing my name alongside some of the biggest names in golf. This is such a strong field so to be able to perform the way I did against these guys means the world to me.” – Michael Vlismas
