Most fan interruptions at golf tournaments follow a familiar script: a shout, a phone alarm, or a sudden cheer breaks a player’s pre-shot routine or interrupts them mid-swing. The disruption can derail concentration and often draws boos from the gallery. But at this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in St Andrews, the interruption was different—not only in how it unfolded but also in what it meant.
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Instead of a stray noise from the gallery, a small group of masked supporters staged a deliberate protest at the 15th green. They hurled tennis balls toward Celtic FC principal shareholder Dermot Desmond, each bearing a paper image of his face crossed out with a red line. What began as a routine pro-am round suddenly became a highly visible symbolic act of protest.
Flushing It Golf posted a video of the incident on X and reported, “Celtic boss Dermond [Dermot] Desmond had tennis balls thrown at him at the Dunhill Links Championship today by masked Celtic fans in protest at how he’s running the club. Dermot was playing alongside Brooks Koepka and was on the 15th hole at the Old Course at the time. Security led him away after he finished his round on the 18th green.”
The disturbance occurred on Saturday afternoon at the Old Course, where the 76-year-old is a familiar figure. Desmond has played the Dunhill Links for decades, missing the event only once since 2001, and has even won the Pro-Am competition. This year, he was competing alongside his son, Ross, and American golfer Brooks Koepka when the protest unfolded.
A group dressed in black and wearing balaclavas then appeared at the edge of the 15th green, lobbing several tennis balls onto the putting surface. The unexpected protest briefly halted play at the $5 million Alfred Dunhill Links Championship as officials moved in to clear the balls from the green.
The disruption also appeared to affect Brooks Koepka, who missed a short birdie putt shortly after the incident.
Police reinforcements were called to help manage the crowd, while Desmond’s personal security team also remained on site. Following the disruption, officers formed a cordon around the 18th green as a security measure.
The incident was not a spontaneous outburst but the latest escalation in a sustained campaign by sections of Celtic’s support against Dermot Desmond and the club’s board. Parkhead saw similar protests, with supporters repeatedly throwing tennis balls onto the pitch during matches at Celtic Park.
The latest protest follows a series of increasingly serious incidents involving Celtic’s hierarchy. In November 2025, officials had to abandon the club’s annual general meeting after around an hour amid jeers, red cards and repeated chants of “sack the board.” During the meeting, Ross Desmond defended his father and accused some supporters of behaving like “bullies.” He also condemned what he described as attempts to “dehumanize and vilify” the club’s executives.
Fan groups have also voiced frustration over Celtic’s summer transfer business, recruitment strategy and communication, with tensions intensifying following another failure to reach the Champions League group stage last year. The growing rift between the club and sections of its support base also led to the ultras group being locked out for five months last season. Against that backdrop, the Celtic Fans Collective (CFC) has gone a step further, urging supporters not to renew their season tickets for the new campaign.
Dermot Desmond’s representatives and tournament officials haven’t commented publicly on the incident at St Andrews. Meanwhile, an investigation into the disruption remains ongoing.
“Around 2pm on Saturday, 3 October, 2026, we were aware of tennis balls being thrown on the golf course in St Andrews,” a Police Scotland spokesperson told The Scottish Sun. “There were no reports of injuries. Enquiries are ongoing.”
The disruption at St Andrews has added a highly public chapter to the growing tensions surrounding Dermot Desmond and Celtic’s leadership. As the investigation into Saturday’s incident continues, the protest has highlighted how frustrations that have simmered at Celtic Park have now spilled over into an unexpected setting on the golf course.