The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

Golf
Published: 01/10/2014

With the excitement of another great Ryder Cup win for the European team slowly subsiding, thoughts turn to this weekend`s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship being played at the Old Course St. Andrews, Carnoustie & Kingsbarn in Scotland. The championship has only been in existence since 2001 and despite being a pro-am event, has grown to become popular, with both players and fans. Due to the nature of the event, the structure is also different to that of a standard golf tournament, with professional players being paired with an amateur player and each playing three rounds of golf on three different courses during the first three days of play. Each round is played on a different course, with the Old Course St. Andrews, Carnoustie Angus and Kingsbarn St. Andrews being the courses of choice. Following the three rounds, the cut is made with the top 60 pros and ties and the top 20 teams progressing to play the final round on Sunday at St. Andrews. It`s important to point out here, that although it can be fun to see professional golfers partnered with celebrities, there is no betting available on this format, only the strokeplay is on offer with bookmakers.

The favourite going in to the tournament is world number one Rory McIlroy at odds of 9/2 with SkyBet. There can be little doubt that McIlroy has the game to be successful on the links courses but just how tuned in will he be following the exploits last weekend in the Ryder Cup? The European players will have been partying hard in to the night after they retained the trophy on Sunday and this could lead to some fatigue and a less than 100% approach to the championship. However, having never won this event and finishing runner-up twice in 2009 and 2011, McIlroy might well be motivated to push that extra yard for victory despite having played all five matches in the Ryder Cup last week.

Other Ryder Cup players involved this weekend include Victor Dubuisson, who is available at 22/1 with bet365 to win the tournament and previous winner Martin Kaymer at 16/1, who has proved that it is possible to come to this championship after playing the Ryder Cup and win. Having said that, it`s Stephen Gallacher who catches the eye here, the Scot did not play his best golf by any means last week but has won this event before and will be fired up to show exactly what he is capable of after a disappointing first day performance at the Ryder Cup. Gallacher is currently available at 40/1 with betfred and at that price is worth a punt.

Looking at the rest of the field, Tommy Fleetwood, on offer at 28/1 with BetVictor is a player worth backing here, especially considering recent form of three top five finishes in his last five tournaments. Fleetwood has also shown good form in the past in this championship, finshing tied fifth and alone in fifth in 2011 and 2013 respectively. Referring to previous form at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Simon Dyson was victorious in 2009 and also secured ten finishes in 2010 and 2011. The Englishman finished second in the KLM Open and can be backed at 50/1 with Coral for this event.

As for an outside each-way bet, one player that stands out at odds of 150/1 with SkyBet and that`s Emiliano Grillo. The Argentine has a superb tee to green game and with the format of the championship as it is, expect pin positions to be generous. If Grillo can find his putting game then he will be difficult to keep off the leaderboard this weekend.

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Any odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of publishing (01/10/2014) but are subject to change.

01/10/2014     © Frixo 2024

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