Shocking scenes at St Andrews as Dermot Desmond targeted while playing with Brooks Koepka
The Celtic principal shareholder was targeted by protestors who threw tennis balls towards him as he played the 15th hole alongside five-time major champion Brooks Koepka.
Celtic principal shareholder Dermot Desmond was targeted by protestors during the third round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews on Saturday.
The Irish billionaire was playing alongside five-time major champion Brooks Koepka when a group of individuals threw tennis balls towards him on the 15th hole of the famous Old Course at St Andrews.
The tennis balls reportedly had pieces of paper attached featuring Desmond's face.
Footage of the incident was shared on X by Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph, showing the protest taking place as Desmond and his playing partners made their way around the historic St Andrews course.
Desmond, 76, was later escorted by security after completing his round on the 18th hole.
The protest appears to have been linked to ongoing criticism from sections of the Celtic support over the running of the Scottish Premiership club.
Watch what happened here:
Desmond was competing in the Pro-Am alongside pro Davis Bryant, with the pair finishing on 15-under par.
That left them tied for 112th and 10 shots outside the cut mark for Sunday's final round.
Bryant made the cut in the professional event by two shots on 7-under par, but he is 11 shots off the pace entering Sunday.
Desmond's son, Ross, has also been competing at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship this week.
The DP World Tour is played across three of Scotland's most famous courses — the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns — with Saturday's incident taking place at St Andrews.
Following the protest, the Celtic Fans Collective, a coalition of supporter groups campaigning for what it describes as greater transparency and accountability from the club's leadership, also shared footage of the incident on social media.
In a statement accompanying the video, the group claimed: “Dermot Desmond has essentially been allowed to run Celtic Football Club whilst using his wealth to hide from supporters and accountability.
“Fans took the chance today to send a message that this arrangement cannot continue.”
The protest comes amid discontent among some Celtic supporters over the club's governance, communication with fans and ambitions both on and off the pitch.
Desmond has been a non-executive director of Celtic since May 1995 and remains the club's largest individual shareholder, with a stake of approximately 34.6 to 34.9%.
Despite the disruption, play continued at St Andrews, with Desmond and Koepka completing their rounds.
Koepka qualified for Sunday's final round but is some way off the pace.
The former World No.1 is 10-under par for the championship with his individual score, eight shots behind 54-hole leader Casey Jarvis.
Andy Roberts first joined GolfMagic on a month's work experience back in April 2011.
Andy then assumed the role of GolfMagic Editor in 2015.
