This week, the European Tour returns to the ‘Home of Golf’ as the 16th edition of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship gets underway, a favourite amongst Tour professionals and amateurs alike. Celebrating links golf at its finest, the tournament is played over three of the world’s best known and respected links courses – the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie and the highly regarded Kingsbarns Golf Links.
Rewind
It was a third European Tour title in the bag for Thorbjørn Olesen at last year’s tournament, as the Dane finished the week at 18 under par, two shots clear of American duo Brooks Koepka and Chris Stroud, improving on his second place finish in 2012.
Olesen began his final round with a three shot lead over the chasing pack, but followed a birdie from eight feet on the first with a double-bogey on the second and a bogey at the next to surrender the outright lead.
It didn’t take long for him to find his form and bounce back, picking up shots at the fourth and fifth holes to return to the top of the leaderboard. He eventually went on to par his way home to win his first tournament since the 2014 ISPS HANDA Perth International.
The Field
The big names certainly come out to play at this unique tournament on Scotland’s east coast.
As sports stars, entertainment icons and golf fans from across the world filter in to St Andrews, the list of golfing stars is one to be matched.
Current Masters champion Danny Willett headlines the event, with Spaniard Rafa Cabrera Bello, who currently sits fourth in the Race to Dubai rankings looking to add to his European Tour trophy cabinet after an impressive debut at the 2016 Ryder Cup.
Belgium’s Thomas Pieters has been in scintillating form, claiming four of a possible five points at Hazeltine National. It has been a remarkable two months for the 24 year old, with a fourth-placed finish at the Olympics, a runners-up spot at the D+D REAL Czech Masters and a win at the Made in Denmark.
Former winner Branden Grace, leading Irish golfer Shane Lowry and Andrew Johnston, now universally known as ‘Beef’, will also be joined by previous winners of the event in Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood.
Rubbing shoulders with the pros this week will be the likes of actors Hugh Grant and Andy Garcia, as well as cricket legends Kevin Pietersen and Michael Vaughan.
The Courses
The event incorporates two separate competitions – an individual professional tournament for 168 of the world’s leading golfers and a Team Championship, in which each professional is paired with one of 168 amateurs, played over three courses.
St Andrews
Over 650 years old, St Andrews last hosted The Open Championship in 2015 and is famous for its large undulating greens and exposed conditions, considered by many as links golf at its finest. Shaped by nature on a spit of land which juts into the estuary of the River Eden, it can be friendly on a calm day, then turn into a monster when the wind blows.
Carnoustie
Host of seven Open Championships and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship since 2001, Carnoustie is known the world over as one of the toughest and most merciless links courses. A long course that is testing for the best when the wind blows, it provides a formidable challenge for any golfer.
Kingsbarns Golf Links
Opened in 2000 and designed by Kyle Philips, the large undulating greens of Kingsbarns presents a number of scoring opportunities for all types of players.
A mixture of flat and undulating surfaces across the 18 holes, it is an exposed links course with very few water hazards, yet a number of bunkers, with those who maintain accuracy from the tee to be rewarded. There are spectacular coastal views on a number of holes, including the third, 12th, 15th and 16th.
Did you know?
• Thorbjørn Olesen will be aiming to become the first player to successfully defend the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
• Oliver Wilson claimed his maiden European Tour title in the 2014 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, after being given an invitation to play.
• Prior to his St Andrews triumph, Oliver Wilson held the record for the most runner-up finishes without a victory on the European Tour, with nine.
• Peter Uihlein shot a course record-equalling 60 in round two at Kingsbarns, on his way to finishing second, losing out in a play-off to David Howell in 2013. Uihlein’s 12 under par 60 at Kingsbarns saw him become the 16th different player to record an official round of 60 on the European Tour.
• There are eight players in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking, seven Major Champions, two World Number Ones, four European Tour Number Ones, 88 European Tour winners and 20 Ryder Cup players.
• The albatrosses made by Lee Westwood and Steen Tinning in 2003 at Kingsbarns, at the ninth and third holes respectively, both in round three, marked the first time in European Tour history that two albatrosses were made in the same round of the same tournament.
• The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship marked the last time that two different Scottish players won the same European Tour event in consecutive seasons, with Stephen Gallacher in 2004 and Colin Montgomerie 2005.
• Two-time winner Padraig Harrington has played in all 15 previous Alfred Dunhill Links Championships. He is the only multiple winner, back in 2002 and 2006. Overall he has amassed six top eight finishes in the tournament. The only other player to have recorded six top ten finishes in the event is the 2003 winner, Lee Westwood.
• In 2014, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship marked the 30th consecutive year of Alfred Dunhill's sponsorship of European Tour events at St Andrews. It began with the Alfred Dunhill Cup, between 1985-2000 and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship from 2001 onwards.
