Alfred Dunhill Links Championship 2022: Course and current form stats

For the fourth and final time this year, the DP World Tour will be teeing-up in Scotland.

It will also be the last of 10 Tour events to be staged in the British Isles during 2022, before the players head south for warmer European climes.

First staged in 2001, this will be the 21st edition of this unique pro-am which wasn't held in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.

As with all previous Dunhill Links tournaments, the three courses are Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and the Old Course at St Andrews.

And, as is tradition, the tournament incorporates a pro-am section.

During days one to three, the 168 professionals and their amateur partners will play one round at each links.

On Saturday evening, when 54 holes have been completed, the leading 60 pros and ties qualify for the final round which takes place at the Old Course. The leading 20 pro-am teams are also involved on judgement day.

Course Characteristics

All three layouts are traditional British links but while Kingsbarns is relatively young - only opened in 2000 - the Old Course dates back to the days when golf was first invented.

The three courses vary in character. The Old Course has large undulating greens, wide fairways and little rough, while Carnoustie is a much trickier affair with tighter fairways and more penal hazards.

Carnoustie usually proves to be the most difficult of the three venues for pros and amateurs alike.

Kingsbarns, meanwhile, has large greens and generous fairways and, over the years, has yielded a higher stroke average than the Old Course.

With all three venues set up to accommodate amateur golfers, the putting surfaces are usually not as fast or as tricky as in professional-only events.

Just over two months ago, the Old Course hosted The Open Championship, which was won by an-inspired Cameron Smith.

Latest betting for this week's Alfred Dunhill Links pro-am

Stroke Averages

Lowest 15 in Dunhill Links tournament (2015-21)
Average .... (Rounds)
67.96: Tyrrell Hatton (23)
68.67: Tommy Fleetwood (24)
68.67: Alex Noren (12)
69.04: Joakim Lagergren (23)
69.18: Kiradech Aphibarnrat (11)
69.30: Shane Lowry (23)
69.52: Ross Fisher (21)
69.67: Matt Wallace (12)
69.78: Richard Bland (18)
69.82: Matthew Jordan (11)
69.87: Danny Willett (15)
69.93: Victor Dubuisson (15)
69.94: Richie Ramsay (16)
69.96: Stephen Gallacher (23)
70.00: Kristoffer Broberg (11)
70.00: Richard Sterne (14)
Min. No. of Rounds = 10
Only those entered this week are included in table

Five To Watch

Tommy Fleetwood: Tied-fourth at the Old Course in July, and tees-up for only the second time in 11 weeks. Six top-seven finishes in this event.

Tyrrell Hatton: A Dunhill Links specialist. Twice a winner, and twice a runner-up. Without a victory since January 2021, the Englishman finished eighth in his most recent tournament in Italy two weeks ago.

Shane Lowry: Tees-up for the first time since winning at Wentworth earlier this month. His links pedigree requires no explanation.

Rory McIlroy: A three-time runner-up at the Links Championship and has also finished third. Regarding the Old Course, the 33-year-old has posted a brace of podium finishes in The Open Championship, most recently in July. Can he claim his first Old Course title this weekend?

Eddie Pepperell: The outsider of these five selections, but has a decent record on links courses. Has posted T20s in six of his last seven outings on the DP World Tour.

Latest betting for this season's Race to Dubai standings

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MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut

Note: List Contains Leading Reserves