Nick Faldo has won six major tournaments

Players Nick Faldo, Laura Davies and Peter Thomson will be honoured by St Andrews University, along with BBC commentator Peter Alliss.

The Open takes place in the Fife town from Thursday until Sunday.

Prince William recently gained an upper-second-class degree in geography from St Andrews.

Winners

The golfers join several other stars of the sport to be honoured by the university, including Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Colin Montgomerie and Seve Ballesteros.

Born in 1931, Peter Alliss was one of Britain's leading professionals but is now best known as a broadcaster for ABC in the US and the BBC in Europe.

Nick Faldo turned to golf when he was 13 and has won 30 times on the European Tour, six times on the USPGA Tour and has six majors to his name.

Laura Davies was the first woman ever to win all three major golfing tournaments in one year during the 1980s.

Meanwhile, Peter Thomson, an Australian, is regarded as one of the world's best links golfers.

He turned professional in 1949 and won the British Open in 1954, 1955, and 1956, becoming the only golfer in the 20th Century to do so in three successive years.

The 45-minute degree service takes place in the Younger Hall at the university.

St Andrews University, founded in 1413, has around 6,000 staff and students.