This week, the European Tour travels back to St Andrews, Scotland, the home of golf, for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. The prestigious tournament is iconic for its star-studded pro-am and is considered by many as a jewel of the European Tour. It is also unique in the fact that it is contested over three courses: the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie Golf Links and Kingsbarns Golf Links.
The tournament was first contested in 2001 as the Dunhill Links Championship and its format is similar to its PGA Tour counterpart, the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Professionals are paired up with an amateur for the entire length of the tournament. Over the first three rounds, groups will get the chance to play all three courses, with a 54-hole cut being made of the top-60 professionals and top-20 pro-am teams. The final round is then played at the Old Course, where the professional with the lowest 72-hole score is crowned the winner. Likewise, the winner of the pro-am is the team with the lowest 72-hole score.
Over the years, many celebrities and notable persons have had the chance to play this illustrious tournament. This year, the amateur field consists of singer/actor Justin Timberlake, footballer Luis Figo, boxer Wladimir Klitschko and (naturally) Bill Murray, just to name a few.
Each course this week will test golfers in different ways. Fresh off its hosting of the 2018 Open Championship, Carnoustie, also known as "golf's greatest test", will play at 7,412 yards. Kingbarns will play at 7,150 yards and is the newest of the courses in the rotation. Lastly, the iconic Old Course, with its enduring and prestigious history, will measure 7,307 yards. The chance to play these courses in this format truly is something special.
What is common between all the aforementioned courses is that they are links courses, which is something that is quasi-rare on the European Tour and even more so on the PGA Tour. This is something that has always bugged me about the professional tours, they don't play enough links courses. In my opinion, a links course is the truest and purest form of a golf course; where golf was meant to be played. Things are not perfect on a links course; you are constantly at the mercy of the weather and consistency amongst conditions is far from constant. It forces a golfer to think in different ways, look for different opportunities, play the non-conventional shot, etc. All of this adds up to a unique golfing experience, and with respect to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, an exciting tournament to watch.
The professional field this week is packed with European Tour royalty in addition to the top players of the world. It's always tough to make picks for this tournament, but this year I've decided to base our picks off of recent performance and performance on links courses:
1) Rafa Cabrera Bello
2) Alex Noren
3) Tom Lewis
Cabrera Bello is our top pick this week. He's coming into the tournament off a T6 finish last week at the BMW PGA Championship and T9 and T6 performances at the Scottish and Irish Opens earlier this year, respectively. Noren also performed well last week, finishing T28. He also finished T11 at the Open Championship earlier this year at Royal Portrush. Tom Lewis is our dark horse pick, but did have a good finish at the Open Championship this year, at T11. He also won the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, the final tournament of the Korn Ferry Tour (formerly Web.com Tour).
Play kicks off early Thursday morning and is sure to be full of excitement and great golf. Be sure to check it out!
And let us know in the comments below who you think will win this year,
And let us know in the comments below who you think will win this year,
-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews
Rafa Cabrera Bello is our top pick this week at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
(Getty Images)
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