NHL legend Wayne Gretzky shares his love for Scotland and 'how much hockey there is'

Wayne Gretzky was in Scotland this week taking part in the 2025 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. The NHL legend joined the celebrity amateur field for the pro-am event alongside his son-in-law Dustin Johnson.

On Friday, Gretzky shared a story on Instagram from the visit. The post showed him smiling with a group of young fans holding up a handmade sign that read: “I took today off school to meet you 99.”

In the caption of his story, Gretzky wrote:

“Loving Scotland. Love how much hockey there is here.”

The 64-year-old Hall of Famer was paired with Johnson,who fired a bogey-free 64 at Carnoustie during the opening round of the four-day event. Gretzky himself was spotted putting on the 1st hole at the same course on Thursday as part of the rotating format that takes players across Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and the Old Course at St Andrews.

The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship ran from October 2 to 5 and brought together some of golf’s biggest names including Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick, while the celebrity field featured figures such as Bill Murray, Michael Douglas and Andy Murray.

Wayne Gretzky is now a grandfather of seven

Last month, NHL legend Wayne Gretzky’s family expanded with the arrival of two new grandsons. Gretzky’s son Trevor and his partner Ashley Malinchak announced the birth of their second child, Wayne.

Trevor shared a photo on Instagram of the baby boy dressed in a white onesie and matching hat embroidered with the name ‘Wayne William’. The newborn was pictured resting on a blanket beside a stuffed animal. The couple are already parents to a daughter, Phoenix.

Gretzky’s youngest daughter Emma and her partner Stone Eby also welcomed a baby boy, Walter, last month. Emma introduced her son with a heartfelt three-photo carousel on Instagram. One image showed Walter peacefully sleeping in a grey camouflage blanket with a light blue hat, another captured him nestled in a striped hospital beanie against her chest and a final close-up showed the newborn resting on a blanket.

With the arrivals of Wayne William and Walter, Gretzky is now the proud grandfather of seven. His eldest daughter Paulina Gretzky and her husband golfer Dustin Johnson share two sons, Tatum and River. His son Ty and his wife Sara have two daughters, Sicily and Vienna.

About the author

Anjum is an NHL reporter at Sportskeeda with over five years of professional experience in the spectator sports industry. Raised in Bahrain, Anjum grew up close to the Formula 1 and GP2 scene, but it was ice-sports that she truly had a chance to play at school.

Anjum prioritizes thorough research, fact-checking and verification of sources when reporting, and has worked for Oil on Whyte, Leafs Herald, the Nation of Blaugrana, Barca International Cules, FromTheBend, Last Word On Sports and NASA.

She got interested in ice hockey after watching the “MVP” trilogy as a second grader and has not gotten over the sport yet. Her favorite player is Alex Ovechkin, whose legendary one-timers live rent free in her heart. The iconic moment when Ovechkin reached 800 career goals with a hat trick in Chicago as the away crowd chanted “Ovi, Ovi” is probably her happiest memory from an ice-rink.

When not enjoying the game, Anjum can be found sailing, star-mapping or collaborating with fellow citizen scientists at NASA.

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Edited by Anjum Rajonno