St Andrews is celebrating a new honour after playing a key role in helping secure a top international television award.

American cable show ‘Golfin’ Around’ claimed top prize for ‘Outstanding Achievement for Broadcast Excellence’ in the sports category at the prestigious 29th Annual Telly Awards for its programme ‘The International Pairs Tournament’, that was staged around the historic town last summer.

The award is the premier accolade for local, regional and cable television and commercials and programs and is an international competition receiving more than 14,000 entries from around the world.

Randy Tantlinger, the show’s host and co-producer from Frames and Pixels, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said: “It is a tremendous honour to be selected for recognition.

“The Telly Awards are regarded as a benchmark for excellence in our industry and we were lucky that Scotland and St Andrews provided us with the perfect venue to show what we can do.”

Tantlinger’s show, a unique blend of regional, national and international golf, is broadcast to 17 million homes via “Fox Sports Net” and to another 10 million homes via syndication.

The ‘Golfin’ Around Scotland’ episode centred on the 2007 International Pairs World Final, which was held at the Home of Golf last July and featured competitors from 22 countries including South Africa, China, Canada, Nigeria, Iceland, the USA and the Philippines.

The global tournament - the world’s largest of its kind for amateurs - began in spectacular fashion on St Andrews’ Old Course as the players gathered by the Swilcan Bridge before being led off the historic links by the City of St Andrews Pipe Band and marching up the town to St Andrews University’s Lower College Hall for the opening ceremony.

The event - in association with Visit Scotland - then moved to Fairmont St Andrews to compete in a 36-hole Stableford tournament on the luxurious resort’s Torrance and Devlin courses, where English duo Shaun Smith and Simon Deaves clinched the world title after a nail-biting play-off against pairs from Scotland and Ireland.

And St Andrews will again be the focus of attention for the competition later this year when pairs from 30 countries will return to contest the fifth International Pairs World Final - with The Duke’s, St Andrews, the venue from September 21-23.

“This year will be a notable landmark for International Pairs as we celebrate our tenth anniversary and it seems fitting that the world final will be staged in Scotland at the Home of Golf,” said Ross Honey, founder and managing director of International Pairs.

“Scotland has played a pivotal role in the development of the competition and, with the UK finals also being held at Carnoustie, to hold these events on two such renowned courses shows how far International Pairs has come since 1998.

“The Duke’s will represent a fantastic challenge and test for the lucky pairs who qualify for the world final, while Carnoustie has a deserved reputation as one of the finest golf links anywhere in the world.”

International Pairs has been backed by VisitScotland for the last six years – and the national Scottish tourist body has committed to be the tournament’s main sponsor until at least the end of this year.

To enter the International Pairs new knockout competition or to register a club, please call 01489 878509, or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Alternatively, visit the Pairs’ website at www.internationalpairs.com.