The DP World Tour plays host to a celebration of links golf this week as the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship welcomes world-class professionals and high-profile amateurs to Scotland. Here are your five things to know.
Matt Fitzpatrick (and family) return to defend titles
“It doesn’t get much better than winning at St Andrews." Those were the words of Matt Fitzpatrick on adding his name to the roll call of champions at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. A week after helping Team Europe win back the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, the Englishman claimed his ninth DP World Tour title with a three-shot victory as inclement weather shortened the tournament to 54 holes. This year, the 2022 U.S. Open champion is bidding to become just the second player – after countryman Tyrrell Hatton – to win the title in back-to-back years. The 30-year-old will also be looking for a repeat of his Team Championship success last year alongside his mum, Sue. But the family ties among the golfing elite don't stop there, with Rory McIlroy joined by his father Gerry and Hatton playing alongside his father Jeff too, while Robert MacIntyre will have dad Dougie, who is course manager at Glencruitten golf club near Oban, for company at the Home of Golf.
Inside the field
Having forged a reputation as one of the most popular events on the DP World Tour schedule, it is perhaps no surprise to see a host of world-renowned golfers are in action – headlined by a glut of Major Champions. After back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Amgen Irish Open at BMW PGA Championship, McIlroy will hope to put several near misses this year behind him and celebrate a first Alfred Dunhill Links Championship title – an event which saw him first earn his DP World Tour card in 2007. Among the other Major winners are his 2023 European Ryder Cup team-mates Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry and Fitzpatrick, while US duo Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed are also teeing it up. Pádraig Harrington, himself a three-time Major Champion, and Hatton will both be playing, hoping to become the first three-time winner of the Alfred Dunhill Links, while they are joined by Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre, 2021 champion Danny Willett and two-time BMW PGA Championship winner Billy Horschel. Thriston Lawrence, who broke into the top 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking last month, leads a strong South African challenge. Harrington and David Howell are the only two professionals to have played in every edition of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
MacIntyre leads home hopes
In the event’s initial years following its inclusion on the DP World Tour in 2001, players from Scotland enjoyed great success with inaugural champion Paul Lawrie, Stephen Gallacher and Colin Montgomerie lifting the silverware in three of its first five editions. However, not since Montgomerie in 2005 has a Scot won the title. Among those hoping to put that right is MacIntyre, already a winner on Scottish soil at the Genesis Scottish Open in July. That followed hot on the heels of his breakthrough PGA TOUR title at the Canadian Open. The fan favourite won’t be in short supply of support again this week, but he is not alone. In addition, with the likes of Connor Syme, Grant Forrest and Calum Hill also representing the Saltire, there is cause for optimism that a Scot will be celebrating on the Swilcan Bridge at the end of the week.
Headline acts from range of industries
With a prize fund of US$5 million, the Alfred Dunhill Links incorporates two separate competitions - an Individual Professional event for the world's leading golfers and the Team Championship in which the professionals are paired with amateur golfers, creating a unique atmosphere. The cut is made after three rounds, with the 60 leading professionals and ties playing in the final round, along with the 20 lowest scoring pro-am teams, regardless of the professional’s individual score. Stars of sport and screen – among a range of fields – will be teeing it up in what is a week in their diary they ensure remains free. Hollywood stars Michael Douglas, Andy Garcia, Bill Murray and Kathryn Newton will be on stage, while figures from the music industry such as Keane’s Tom Chaplin, Linkin Park’s Dave Farrell and Mike Rutherford of Genesis and Mike and the Mechanics, will be sharing the fairways with cult US rock legends Huey Lewis and Bon Jovi’s Tico Torres. Alongside them are a raft of sports stars such as Gareth Bale, Kevin Pietersen, Ruud Gullit, Sir Steve Redgrave and surfing great Kelly Slater.
Charity a cornerstone of the event
Since it was established in 2001, the Alfred Dunhill Links has only been absent from the DP World Tour schedule on one occasion – in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Staged at three of the world’s best-known links venues – The Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie, and Kingsbarns – the tournament is liked by players, amateurs (celebrities or otherwise) and fans alike. Set on varied and challenging courses on the east coast of Scotland, the tournament has forged special bonds among players and their partners through their passion for golf. Now, into its 23rd staging this year, another facet of the event is how the participating golfers throw their support to a number of charitable causes, via the Alfred Dunhill Links Foundation, with many millions of pounds raised over the years.
