By Jake Bayliss,Sally Hind

Copyright dailyrecord

Radio presenter Chris Evans was previously barred from the star-studded Alfred Dunhill Links following his victory in the Scottish pro-am golf competition. The tournament has returned this week and features professional golfers teamed with amateur players, including Andy Murray , and other well-known personalities, competing in teams across three courses. Back in 2011, Evans and professional golfer Nick Dougherty sailed to triumph with a remarkable 40-under-par finish. But Evans came under fire for his 10 handicap following the duo’s record-breaking lowest score in the tournament’s history, Wales Online reports. Despite arranging the time off from his radio programme to defend his title the next year, Evans told how he discovered he had been barred from playing. Mirror Sport has contacted Alfred Dunhill seeking clarification on whether Evans’ exclusion remains active more than a decade on. “Sadly, I will not be defending my title this year,” Evans said in 2012. “Why? It transpires I’ve been barred for life. I could go into why but frankly it’s all a bit of a bore. Suffice to say, if we were kids in the playground, the boy who owns the ball just took it home in a huff because his team didn’t win.” Evans victory came against a lineup of A-list golf enthusiasts including Michael Douglas, Samuel L Jackson and Hugh Grant. The 59 year old told how concerns had been voiced at the time, saying: “Along with congratulations, there were rumblings of dissent,” according to TNT Sports. “The gloaming was dark with talk of my handicap being too high for my ability. “It crossed my mind to set up an alternative tournament on the exact same dates. I think I’ll call it the Dung Hill Cup.” Despite Evans not participating in this year’s pro-am, the event has attracted another impressive list of high-profile stars. Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones will play, along with comedy stalwart Bill Murray. Music industry amateurs include US rock legend Huey Lewis and Keane’s lead singer Tom Chaplin. Tennis great Murray, who harbours ambitions of qualifying for The Open in the future, is making his latest pro-am appearance while five-time Olympic gold medal-winning rower Steve Redgrave is also competing. Ashes victors Kevin Pietersen and Michael Vaughan are among the ex-cricket players in the lineup along with several former South African rugby internationals. Dustin Johnson is joined by his NHL legend father-in-law, Wayne Gretzky. In the individual strokeplay event that runs concurrently with the team competition, defending champion and recent Ryder Cup star Tyrell Hatton is participating in the team format with his father, Jeff. Another Ryder Cup victor and 2023 Alfred Dunhill champion, Matt Fitzpatrick, is also teamed up with his dad, Russell.