Farmfoods British Par 3 Championship gets underway

Celebrities from the world of sport and entertainment were out in force on the first day of the Farmfoods British Par 3 Championship, with a number of famous faces thrilling the galleries on the Cromwell Course at Nailcote Hall in Warwickshire.

The competition is celebrating its 80th year this week and has welcomed back host Tony Jacklin for the fifth year, with Tuesday's Celeb-Am an entertaining warm-up to the Pro-Am which gets underway tomorrow.

Jacklin, who won the Open Championship in 1969 before claiming the US Open a year later, is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in European golfing history.

The 69-year-old played in the Celeb-Am and will be joined tomorrow by fellow Ryder Cup stars from the past in Ian Woosnam and Sam Torrance.

Tuesday was all about the celebrities, though, with the likes of Peter Schmeichel, Matthew Hoggard and Willie Thorne representing the world of sport, together with comedian Jasper Carrott and television personalities Dan Walker, Craig Phillips and Len Goodman.

Other big names showing off their golfing talent included former professional cricketer Franklyn Stephenson, one of the most decorated athletes in British history, Steve Backley, and former professional footballers Alan McInally and Dean Saunders.

Teams of four, comprised of three amateurs and one professional, completed two loops of the Cromwell Course with the best two scores from four counting in a team Stableford competition.

Tomorrow sees the professionals pit their skills in the two-day Pro-Am, featuring a host of European Tour professionals, including Robert Rock, Eddie Pepperell and Andy Sullivan, plus record-breaker Charley Hull, who will be the youngest ever player to represent Europe in the upcoming Solheim Cup.

And we'll have news from the course as GM's contributing writer Michael Weston plays alongside Malcolm Gregson, who played for Great Britain in the 1967 Ryder Cup.