Watch: Helicopter Lands on 18th Fairway at St. Andrews

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland - It’s not often that a round of golf is stopped because of a helicopter landing in the middle of the 18th fairway unless you’re playing with the President of the United States.

Yet, at 11:00 on Monday, a yellow helicopter circled the first and 18th fairways at the Old Course in St. Andrews and then after locating some orange smoke as a designated landing spot, the helicopter did just that: it landed on Old Tom Morris’s masterpiece.

According to sources, there was an accident outside of the Rusacks St. Andrews Hotel, and transporting the individual to a hospital quickly was a major priority. With Dundee 14 miles away but at least a 30-minute ride along narrow roads and Edinburgh 52 miles away, a helicopter made the most sense.

Upon its arrival, the helicopter from Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance was on the ground for around an hour, stopping all play on the first and 18th holes with back up of as many as six groups on either tee before play could be resumed.

A St Andrews Links Trust statement issued to bunkered.co.uk read: “Play was suspended on the Old Course for a short time this morning following consultation with Police Scotland to allow access for the Air Ambulance to attend a nearby road traffic incident."