The man behind the table is counting his blessings.

It's a blessing to be here in St Andrews, playing alongside some of the world's best golfers. It's a blessing to be able to play a sport with friends and colleagues. It's a blessing that South Africa has produced so many great players and it's a blessing that the country has such fantastic courses. Oh, it's also a blessing to be bad at golf and not have to take it too seriously.

The blessings haven't been given out so thick and fast in these parts since the Pope pitched up in Bellahouston Park. But the most remarkable fact about the bless-blitz is not the rate of them, but the source. Because when you've been born with no bones in your lower legs, when you've had to have both limbs amputated at the age of just 11 months, and when you've fought every inch of the way to be respected as an individual and a sportsman, maybe blessings aren't the most obvious adornments to your life.

But this is Oscar Pistorius, and this is no ordinary life. The 25-year-old South African is one of the most easily identifiable figures in sport, courtesy of the carbon fibre blades that have carried him to six Paralympic gold medals and which allowed him to become the first amputee runner to compete at the Olympic games, but the most striking thing about him is not his physical prowess but his radiant personality. He really is one of those rare fellows who can light up a room with a smile.

He is in Scotland to play in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, where he will partner Ryder Cup vice-captain Paul McGinley round the links of Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and St Andrews. And although he has run in front of tens of thousands of spectators in Athens, Beijing and London, he is feeling the pressure already.

"Yesterday we came up the 18th [at St Andrews] and there were 20 people there," he says. "I was starting to freak out so I don't know what tomorrow is going to be like. I've always competed better with big crowds. I don't know if it will be the same in golf, but I'm looking forward to it. But I'm sweating already."

For Pistorius, the tournament will begin at 10.06am today when he tees up at Carnoustie. Has he ever been as nervous as he is now? Well yes, as it happens, because he was a complete wreck when he took part in one of those celebrity dancing programmes in Italy last year. "I'd like to say I have two left feet," he says of his dancing skills. "But I have no feet at all. That was the most nerve-racking thing I've ever done."

But somewhere along the line, the sportsman's instincts should take over. Or at least he hopes they will. "In track, I'm always nervous when I have big competitions," he says. "But it's what I know, it's what I do every day. When you do something in front of a big crowd that you're not accustomed to doing or that you know you don't do very well,then it is nerve-racking.

"I would like to say I would just like to have fun this week, but ultimately I'm a fierce competitor, so I would like to do well too."

As an athlete, Pistorius fought to be seen as an equal of able-bodied competitors. In golf, he is happy to take his handicap allowance, currently set at 18. He is not one of life's golf obsessives – he couldn't actually remember if he had watched his countryman Louis Oosthuizen's 2010 Open Championship triumph on television – but he is a happy hacker when he gets the chance.

"When I was in my middle teens, 15 or 16, my grandmother asked what I would like for my birthday. I told her I would like a set of golf clubs," he says. "She took me to the local pro shop and we picked out a bag. I started playing with really inexpensive clubs and just really enjoyed it.

"As the years went by I kept enjoying it. I've been privileged to play on some of the most amazing courses where I've travelled. This week is definitely the most amazing experience for me. My golf has not really improved much to be honest. It's probably the same as it was seven or eight years ago, but I have one or two good shots.

"So long as I have one good putt, one good chip and one good drive per day, I think that's good enough for me. So I'm looking forward to this week."

Pistorius describes his swing as "aggressive" but he is trying to let the club do more of the work. "I feel that if my grip is fine and my spine is relaxed then the ball seems to go a fair distance. I just need to focus on not forcing the ball and not getting too intense or tight."

As a runner, Pistorius has set an example to millions. He might never have the same status in golf, but he makes an eloquent case for the sport. "Golf is a sport you can play your whole life," he says. "There are more and more people living with amputations now due to diabetes, civil wars, motor accidents. If some people are maybe disheartened about not being involved in an extreme sport any more, I hope they can see that there are other sports they can enjoy."

He jokes about being inspired by the Ryder Cup, and inspiration has long been his specialist subject. It really is a blessing to have him here.