Alan McGregor - Leader of the Links

I ask McGregor to name a few of the memories which will light his retirement – much of which will be spent on the North Links in his hometown of Perth – and he wastes no time in mentioning John Daly.
“He won before I was working for the Trust but I was spellbound by his play from the first moment he appeared in the old Dunhill Cup,” says McGregor. “When people think of St Andrews, they tend to think of R&A members but golf belongs to everyone in the town and John Daly absolutely fits with the place.
“People love him for his booming tee-shots and they love the fact that he is not afraid to bring out his driver. They also find his honesty re his various shortcomings more than a little endearing.”
From Daly, McGregor switched to Paula Creamer and her famous handstand on the Swilcan Bridge during the Ricoh Women’s British Open of 2007. “That event was a source of huge pride to everyone in the town,” recalls McGregor. “Even the most grudging of R&A members had to admit that the golf was nothing short of sensational. As for Lorena Ochoa, she was a truly wonderful champion.”
McGregor’s favourite Tiger memory relates to the 2000 Open and the night he had been attending a dinner at the Links Trust clubhouse. As he left, he noticed a gaggle of spectators standing in the half-dark beside the practice ground. Closer investigation revealed that the little crowd had stayed back to watch Tiger practising and that Tiger, in turn, had stayed back to sign autographs for every one of them. “It was very impressive,” said the former CEO.
In terms of the Trust’s proliferating number of money-making ventures, no-one who knows the story will be surprised to learn that McGregor picked out the sale of the old blue starter’s box which used to stand beside the first tee on the Old Course.