DP World Tour : Alfred Dunhill Championship
This week is special on the DP World Tour as players and their partners all gather at the Home of Golf, St Andrews, along with Carnoustie and Kings Barns for the annual Alfred Dunhill Championship
Last year Robert MacIntyre became one of four Scotsmen to win.
MacIntyre defends in 'golf heaven'
Seven days after starring for Team Europe in the Ryder Cup at Bethpage, Robert MacIntyre became the fourth winner to hail from Scotland with his victory last year.
With persistent winds resulting in Saturday's scheduled third round being cancelled, and the tournament reduced to 54 holes, a third consecutive 66 for the Oban man resulted in a four-shot triumph over Hatton.
As a result, he became the first Scottish winner since Colin Montgomerie in 2005, with countrymen Stephen Gallacher in 2004 and Paul Lawrie in 2001 also having hoisted the trophy aloft at St Andrews.
Having won his national open a year earlier, MacIntyre has spoken of how only a Major Championship victory at St Andrews - venue for next year's The Open - could top his career successes to date.
Speaking ahead of his title defence, Bob as he's known who comes from the west coast in Oban said: “I’ve always loved to come to St Andrews. I’ve been coming here with the family for years, sometimes just to walk on the beach and to be in the town.
“The whole place is golf heaven and it makes it even more fun during the Championship that so many of my family and friends are able to come to St Andrews to support me.”
Celebrating 25 years
First held in 2001, this year marks the 25th anniversary of a tournament that celebrates links golf at its finest. Held across the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie, and Kingsbarns, it is widely regarded as one of the most popular events among players - professionals and high-profile amateurs - and fans alike.
With the 2020 edition cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, 24 editions have been held. Across that time, there have been 21 different winners with two multiple winners in record three-time champion Tyrrell Hatton and two-time holder Pádraig Harrington. Hatton is the one player to have successfully defended their title, going back-to-back in 2016 and 2017.
A distinctive format
Unlike most events on the DP World Tour, the championship incorporates an individual professional tournament featuring a field of 168 players along with a team championship in which each professional is paired with an amateur.
Play is over three courses in rotation over the first three days – the Old Course St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns - with the final round being played over the Old Course at The Home of Golf
After three rounds, the field is reduced to the 60 leading professionals and ties and the leading 20 teams. Amateurs receive a stroke allowance equal to two thirds of their official handicap to a maximum of 18 for men and 24 for women. The team score is the lower of the professional's and his amateur partner's net score at each hole.
Read More: The winning teams from the history of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
Inside the star-studded field
Players from 28 different nationalities are making their way to Scotland. Among them are a host of Major Champions, including Brooks Koepka who is bidding to become the first American winner of this tournament. Justin Rose, Matt Fitzpatrick, Francesco Molinari and Bubba Watson also bring Major Championship-winning experience. Rose last played in 2007 when he finished runner-up.
Joining Rose and Fitzpatrick are his fellow 2025 Ryder Cup-winning teammates Tommy Fleetwood, Sepp Straka, MacIntyre and Hatton along with Team Europe Captain and former World Number One Luke Donald.
With both Patrick Reed, Rory McIlroy and Eugenio Chacarra - the top three ranked players on the Race to Dubai Rankings in the field not teeing it up - an opportunity is presented to those further down the standings as we draw nearer to the DP World Tour Play-Offs, with the battle to preserve playing rights for 2027 on the agenda for others.
Fans of golf are unlikely to forget the dramatic climax to the Walker Cup earlier this month and one of the stars of Great Britain & Ireland's comeback win against the United States at Lahinch is this week entering the professional ranks.
Josh Hill, who was the lowest ranked player on either side, holed the winning putt in Ireland and is the latest in a line of players to make their professional debut at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. A graduate in sports management at the University of Tennessee, the 22-year-old made his debut on the DP World Tour at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in 2020 as a 15-year-old when he enjoyed a practice round alongside Koepka.
When it comes to the celebrities, Hollywood legend Bill Murray will make his 11th appearance at the Dunhill Links, while singer-songwriter Ronan Keating, Keane’s Tom Chaplin, Linkin Park’s Dave Farrell and US rock legend Huey Lewis provide representation from the world of music.
Olympic rowing legend Sir Steve Redgrave will continue his record as an ever-present visitor, and he will be joined by other famous sportsmen including 11-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater, England cricketer Kevin Pietersen, Dutch football’s Ruud Gullit, and champion jump jockey Sir Tony McCoy.
Enhancements and restoration to the Old Course
As part of a programme designed to refine the strategic challenge to the Old Course ahead of next summer's Open Championship, renovation work has taken place over the past 12 months since November 3rd 2025.
One of the most significant areas of work has been on the 16th hole where the fairway has been widened with the placement of two new bunkers to the left of the Principal’s Nose bunker.
New bunkers have also been added at elite-level drive length at the sixth and tenth, while two of the right-side drive length fairway bunkers at the second have been moved up and to the left to make them more relevant to the line of play.
Among other changes, the most significant to the world-renowned layout since before The Open in 2015, new championship tees have been added to the sixth and seventh, increasing the yardage by 19 and 22 respectively, while enlargements have been made to existing teeing areas at the 11th and 16th.
The overall championship yardage of the course has increased by 57 yards to 7,375.
europeantour.com
Bryan Angus (edit)
