Five things to know – Alfred Dunhill Links Championship 

The European Tour returns to Scotland for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, played across the Old Course St Andrews, Carnoustie Golf Links and Kingsbarns Golf Links. Here are your five things to know.

20th Anniversary

Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Alfred Dunhill Links makes a welcome return to the European Tour’s International Schedule – having been played in every year since 2001 with the exception of 2020, when the tournament was cancelled due to Covid-19.

Over the years there have been an impressive list of champions, and several of them return this week. They include: Padraig Harrington, Tyrrell Hatton and Martin Kaymer – all of whom have travelled from the Ryder Cup in Wisconsin, as well as Stephen Gallacher, Branden Grace, Oliver Wilson, Thorbjørn Olesen, Lucas Bjerregaard and defending champion Victor Perez.

Also returning this week is Ross Fisher, who set a new course record of 61 (11 under par) on the Old Course during the 2017 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Unique format

As is tradition, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship incorporates two separate competitions - a US$5 million individual professional tournament and a team event where the professionals join forces with an amateur playing partner.

The only tournament on the European Tour International Schedule to be staged over three courses, the players are treated to a trio of Scotland’s most iconic links - St Andrews Old Course, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns.

The field plays each of the layouts once before the leading 60 leading professionals and ties, along with the 20 lowest scoring pro-am teams, return to the Old Course for the final day’s action.

Perez defends

Victor Perez overcame Matthew Southgate in an enthralling final day duel to win his first European Tour title at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in 2019.

It was a tense battle all the way until the iconic 17th, where Southgate’s costly bogey at the Road Hole handed Perez the advantage heading up the last, and a final hole par was enough to secure the victory.

The Frenchman, who is based just half an hour away in Dundee, later credited his work on the mental side of the game for his ability to prevail, saying that he was picking out colours to keep himself calm.

“For me personally, I always tend to look too far forwards, but I can only do what I can do in that moment. When I won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews last year, I was picking out colours to calm myself down. It could be the colour of anything; a flag, a building, a grandstand, whatever, just something to check in with myself for a second and slow everything down. Every athlete will tell you when they feel their best they feel like everything is happening in slow motion”

He returns this week and will get his defence under way at Carnoustie on Thursday at 10.06am with Guido Migliozzi and their respective Pro-Am partners Dan Friedkin and Ryan Smith.

Celebrities out in force

Every year the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship attracts an impressive crowd of celebrities, and this year is no different.

Many of the same faces return every year, and while the competition celebrates its 20th edition, so does Sir Steve Redgrave – who is in the only player to have competed in every tournament since it began.

Other celebrities featuring in this year’s field are Wladimir Klitschko, Tom Chaplin, Andy Garcia, Darren Gough, Stephen Hendry, Ronan Keating, Huey Lewis, A.P McCoy, Jamie Redknapp, Joe Root, Tico Torres, Michael Vaughan and Shane Warne.

Ogden Phipps II makes his return to defend the Pro-Am title he won alongside Tommy Fleetwood in 2019 after they memorably held off a challenge from Rory McIlroy and his dad Gerry.

Fathers & Sons

Celebrities aren’t the only golfers to make up the field in the Pro-Am, and some of the World’s best take the opportunity to tee up alongside their fathers for the competition.

Rory McIlroy almost won alongside his dad in 2019, and although he won’t be in the field this year, there are several notable father and son who will be vying to become just the second duo to win this part of the competition, having seen Sam Torrance achieve the feat alongside his son Daniel in 2003.

This week, Race to Dubai Number Two Billy Horschel makes his first appearance in the event with his father Billy Horschel Snr, and will get his week under way at Carnoustie alongside Martin Kaymer and his father Horst. In the group behind them, two-time winner Tyrrell Hatton will play with his dad, and coach, Paul, who is playing for the first time in this tournament.