Jon Rahm was denied a record fourth Open de España title as fellow Spaniard Angel Hidalgo, the overnight leader who was ranked No. 398 in the world, won on the second playoff hole to earn his first career DP World Tour victory on Sunday. 

Rahm will attempt to rebound as a +650 co-favorite along with Rory McIlroy at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland. McIlroy is a three-time runner-up in this event. 

 

Tyrrell Hatton (11-1) is a back-to-back winner here (2016, 2017) and a two-time runner-up as well. 

Tommy Fleetwood (12-1) was third last week in Madrid and is also a two-time runner-up in this event. 

The next rung of the market consists of Shane Lowry (20-1), Billy Horschel (22-1), who won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth two weeks ago, 2015 Dunhill Links runner-up Brooks Koepka (22-1), Robert MacIntyre (25-1) and 2022 Dunhill Links runner-up Alex Noren (28-1). 

Matt Fitzpatrick (35-1) is the Dunhill Links defending champion. 

The Event

​The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is structured very similarly to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and was started in 2001. Each professional partners with an amateur for the pro-am portion of the event and plays on a three-course rotation: The Old Course at St. Andrews, Carnoustie Golf Links and Kingsbarns Golf Links. After each pair has played each course, there is a 54-hole cut made of the top 60 professionals and the top 20 pro-am pairs. These players all play at St. Andrews on Sunday.

The Field

Here is a list of this week’s participants, including the amateurs/celebrities.

The Courses

The Old Course at St. Andrews is known as the “Home of Golf” and its history dates to the 15th century. It has hosted more British Opens than any other course (29) and currently hosts it every five years. The 7,318-yard, par-72 has a peculiar setup of 14 par-4s and just two par-3s and two par-5s. St. Andrews features seven double greens with huge, fescue/bentgrass putting surfaces. The 17th Road Hole, with its notorious bunker, and the closing 18th, which features the Swilcan Bridge and the Valley of Sin, are the most famous and iconic closing holes on the planet. Ross Fisher set the course record of 61 here in 2017. In the first three days of the tournament, the pins will be much easier for the professionals and amateurs but will be set up a lot tougher after the 54-hole cut.

Carnoustie Golf Links will be the toughest of the three courses in the Dunhill Links rota. It usually scores about around two strokes higher than the others. Carnoustie plays as a par-72 of 7,394 yards for this event and hosted the British Open (plays as a par-71 for the major) eight times, most recently in 2018, which was won by Francesco Molinari (-8; 276). The course record is 63 set by Tommy Fleetwood in the 2017 event. Carnoustie can also present an interesting betting angle if you have in-play wagering available. Typically, you will find good value on the players who play Carnoustie first on Thursday as the players get the toughest course out of the way first.

Kingsbarns Golf Links, located six miles south of St. Andrews, is the easiest course of the three. It plays as a par-72 of 7,227 yards, so it is the shortest of the three. Unlike its cohorts in the Dunhill Links rota, Kingsbarns is a relatively new course and was designed in 2000 by Kyle Phillips, who has spent years under the tutelage of Robert Trent Jones Jr. Branden Grace set the course record of 60 in the 2012 event before going onto victory.

2023: Matt Fitzpatrick (-19/197); 12-1*

​2022: Ryan Fox (-15/273); 80-1

2021: Danny Willett (-18/270); 100-1

2020: Canceled due to COVID-19

2019: Victor Perez (-22/266); 175-1

2018: Lucas Bjerregaard (-15/273); 50-1

2017: Tyrrell Hatton (-24/264); 22-1

2016: Tyrrell Hatton (-23/265); 66-1

2015: Thorbjørn Olesen (-18/270); 200-1

2014: Oliver Wilson (-17/271); 500-1

2013: David Howell (-23/265); 125-1**

2012: Branden Grace (-22/266); 50-1

2011: Michael Hoey (-22/266); 250-1

2010: Martin Kaymer (-17/271); 16-1

Weather shortened to 54 holes – *

Playoff won in 2013 by David Howell over Peter Uihlein. – **

  • 10 of the last 15 winners had won an event in the current or previous calendar years.
  • 14 of the last 22 winners were from the United Kingdom.
  • 18 of the 22 winners here have earned at least one previous career victory on the DP World Tour.
  • 8 of the last 15 winners here had recorded at least a top-10 in this event in their career before winning.

Selections

Brooks Koepka (22-1, BetMGM)

While Koepka has not played in this event since 2017, he has finished in the top 10 here in his last three starts plus has a top-10 at St. Andrews in the 2015 British Open. 

He outdueled Rahm seven weeks ago to win at LIV Greenbrier and finished sixth in his last start at LIV Chicago. 

Koepka also calls St. Andrews his favorite course in the world and while he is typically only motivated by major championships, he certainly would love to win at “The Home of Golf.”

Louis Oosthuizen (40-1, DraftKings)

Oosthuizen, of course, has a win at St. Andrews, winning the Claret Jug at the 2010 British Open. 

He has played solid enough with eight top-10s finishes in 14 LIV events for 2024 including two runners-up, but he is currently out of the majors except for The Open. 

There is a reason he is here and that is to get back his OWGR and get back into all of the majors. 

Grant Forrest (66-1, Bet365)

Forrest shot Sunday’s low round to finish T-3 in Madrid at the Open de España. 

The Scotsman was fifth at the Irish Open at Royal County Down three weeks ago and has finished 10th here at the Dunhill Links on his last two attempts.

He is a bit of a links ace has evident by his maiden victory at Fairmont St. Andrews in the 2021 Hero Open, a course that sits on the coast between the Old Course and Kingsbarns.

Alex Fitzpatrick (75-1, Bet365)

Alex’s brother Matt won here last year, and it was a Fitzpatrick family affair as Matt and mother Sue combined to win the Pro-Am, and they are back to defend their title. 

He is gaining more links experience having finished 17th in the British Open at Royal Liverpool last year and finished top 10 in the Irish Open at Royal County Down just three weeks ago. 

Calum Hill (125-1, BetMGM)

Last time out on links, Hill was seventh after 54 holes at the Irish Open three weeks ago before a disappointing Sunday. 

He has finished in the top 25 in three of four appearances at the Dunhill Links. 

Daniel Brown (150-1, BetMGM)

In the 2024 British Open at Royal Troon earlier this summer, Brown was making his major championship debut after earning a place in the field through final qualifying. He was the first-round leader following a bogey-free 65 and was in contention throughout the weekend until settling for a T-10 on Sunday. 

Brown finished fourth three weeks ago in the Irish Open at Royal County Down. 

Joe Dean (200-1, Bet365)

Dean was a grocery delivery driver trying to fund his DP World Tour career. Now he has five top-5s on the DPWT, the latest coming last week in Spain.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR