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.
Unique format
The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship returns this week and, as is tradition, incorporates two separate competitions – a $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 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.
Justin Timberlake’s European Tour continues
Less than a month after rekindling his bromance with world No 2 Rory McIlroy at the Omega European Masters, ‘Cry Me a River’ hitmaker Justin Timberlake is back in action, this time teaming up with Englishman Justin Rose.
The ten-time Grammy award-winning musician was spotted getting tips from McIlroy in Switzerland ahead of his Pro-Am appearance at Crans-sur-Sierre and will be looking to put that advice into practice as he makes his first appearance at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Celebrity watch
Timberlake is far from the only star attraction set to take to the links. The event has again attracted a host of household names, with the professionals teaming up with Hollywood greats, sporting icons and international popstars to create a unique field.
Former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Wladimir Klitschko, 2001 Fifa World Player of the Year Luis Figo and five-time Olympic gold medallist Steve Redgrave are among several sporting greats looking to perform on the links, while Caddyshack’s Bill Murray, and footballer turned actor Vinnie Jones are set to add plenty of star appeal.
Stars in their eyes
This week brings one of the strongest Alfred Dunhill Links Championship fields ever assembled, with three players from the top five in the Official World Golf Ranking – McIlroy, Justin Rose and Jon Rahm – all returning to action straight from recording top-10 performances at the BMW PGA Championship last week.
Fresh from his maiden appearance at Wentworth Club, Tony Finau is also set for back-to-back European Tour starts as he returns to Fife following his top-10 finish at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship 12 months ago.
Meanwhile, defending champion Lucas Bjerregaard will be looking to follow in the footsteps of England’s Tyrrell Hatton who made history by becoming the first man to successfully defend the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in 2017, when he begins his title bid on Thursday.
Hatton was denied a third-successive Alfred Dunhill Links Championship crown last year, finishing just one stroke behind Bjerregaard.
Glory for Rory?
McIlroy is back in action at St Andrews this week, continuing to chase that elusive victory after three runner-up finishes at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
The Northern Irishman has enjoyed a special relationship with the tournament over the years, recording a memorable third-place finish as a rising 18-year-old to secure his European Tour playing rights for the first time.
Since then he has narrowly missed out on victory on three occasions: in 2009, 2011 and 2014, with the world No 2 teaming up with his father Gerry in the team event on the latter occasion.
Having enjoyed an exceptional year, which included top 10s in two of the four Major championships and all three of the World Golf championships to date, McIlroy will be targeting his first European Tour victory of the year in Scotland.
