Death from the Claret Jug - James Y. Bartlett

Hacker is back with another exciting golf mystery! This time, he's in St. Andrews covering the British Open for the readers of his Boston newspaper, and his pretty girlfriend Mary Jane is along for all the fun. But there's trouble afoot in the Auld Grey Toon: a golf official is murdered and dropped into the Bottle Dungeon of the Castle. Prime suspect: a flamboyant and celebrity-like American resort developer. But there are also gangs of Russian thugs all over town, some chasing Hacker's friend and longtime St. Andrews caddie Johnnie Swift; others working for the Marquis Cheape of Wormwood, the local aristocrat who actually owns the land beneath the famed Old Course. And there's a University professor who wants to outlaw the game of golf, and is intent on disrupting the tournament itself. Hacker has to wade through all the minefields while still trying to cover the golf tournament, and, as usual, the ending comes as an explosive surprise! 

'Bartlett has hit his stride with this one--the best Hacker adventure yet!' --Providence Journal