One of the best weeks of the season is quickly drawing upon us with the 2024 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship teeing off this Thursday.
A key tournament on the DP World Tour Calendar and in the Race to Dubai, you could argue that this week’s field is the strongest that the European Tour will welcome all year with Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Billy Horschel, Brooks Koepka, Tyrell Hatton and Shane Lowry all due to tee it up this week.
A tournament with a twist, here is everything you need to know about the 2024 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
The Courses
Unlike most tournaments which see all four rounds take place at one venue, the Alfred Dunhill rotates around three of Scotland’s best golf courses, St Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie.
All three regularly rank amongst the best golf courses in the world and they all share one thing in common, that they are links courses. Due to the time of year that the Alfred Dunhill will be played, there is a huge chance that the wind will be blowing and there could even be some heavy rain. To be the master of the Alfred Dunhill, you really have to master the elements.
Ahead of the tournament starting the field will be split into three. Each third will rotate around the courses meaning that they play St Andrews, Kingsbarns or Carnoustie over there consecutive days. Unlike most regular DP World Tour events, the cut is made after the third round, with those positioned high enough on the leaderboard returning for Sunday’s final round which will be held at St Andrews.
One of the best tournaments of the year, some huge names have tasted success on the links and some of the of games biggest names will hope it is there name that will be etched onto one of the most prestigious trophies that the European Tour has to offer.
Who Are The Favourites
This year’s Alfred Dunhill has the feeling of a major championship and as we have already mentioned the field is absolutely loaded.
Rory McIlroy will start the week as the bookmakers favourite and the Northern Irishman will be hoping to cement his position at the top of the Race to Dubai standings.
Aiming for a third consecutive European Order of Merit title, McIlroy will head back to the Scottish links looking to win this tournament for the very first time. It’s easy to think that the four time major winner has had a poor season but in terms of consistency he has experienced few better years. A winner down in Dubai at the start of the year, he then won the Wells Fargo and Zurich Championship and has filled the runner up position at BMW PGA, Irish Open and U.S Open.
Whilst McIlroy would have been annoyed with his string of recent second place finishes, the fact of the matter is that he is putting himself in positions to win and if he can keep playing the way he is, few will be able to stop him this week.
Playing in his second consecutive DP World tournament is the 2024 LIV individual champion, Jon Rahm.
Teeing it up this week so that he can fill the necessary quota of events to qualify for next year’s Ryder Cup, Rahm is in the midst of some great form and will start as a leading contender this week.
Although the conditions will be different to the sunny weather experienced at last week’s Spanish Open, Rahm worked his way into that tournament beautifully and was unlucky not to have won his fourth home title, ultimately being denied by Alfredo Hidalgo in a dramatic playoff. Rahm has struggled at times on the links, but he recorded a top ten finish at the 2024 Open and certainly has the skill set to win this week.
Completing the top three in the betting are the English duo of Tyrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood.
Hatton, who has enjoyed a brilliant year on the LIV Tour has a brilliant record in this event, winning the title in 2016 and 2017. Seemingly liking the links at this time of year, Hatton will be hoping for a good week on courses he loves to try and move his world ranking up ensuring him a place at next year’s majors.
For Tommy Fleetwood this represents another opportunity for him to break free and win a big tournament. One of Europe’s best players for the best part of a decade, the Liverpudlian would have been disappointed to have won just once this season, with that win coming all the way back in January.
A runner up at this tournament back in 2018, he will hope that this is the year he can finally join the tournament's illustrious list of past winners.
Who Could Represent Some Value This Week
Everywhere you look this week there is plenty of value that can be found.
In the lead up to the tournament Brooks Koepka has openly spoken about how much he loves playing on the Scottish links and he is sure to be popular in the betting. A five time major winner, it was a frustrating season for the burly American who barely featured on any of the leaderboards this year.
With Rahm taking up much of the LIV spotlight, Koepka had a great end to his season winning the LIV Greenbriar event. Set to play free and loose across venues he clearly loves, he could be a real danger to the entire field.
Another man who warrants massive respect is Shane Lowry. A former Open Champion, it could be argued that there is no better player in the wind than Lowry and if the wind blows he could give you a great run for your money.
Another man whose chances can’t be dismissed are hometown here Robert MacIntyre, having honed his skills in conditions that will be present this week, the hugely popular Scot has already tasted success in front of his home fans when winning the Scottish Open earlier this season. He will hope to complete a historic double by the time this week comes to an end.
Jack Hartman
A keen golfer and huge fan of the game, Jack has been covering golf for the last five years. Bringing you all the latest coverage and news from the PGA, LIV, LPGA and DP World Tours, never before has golf been so popular and Jack can’t wait to bring all the excitement to his readers.
