Alfred Dunhill Links Championship 2023: Course and current form stats

• Carnoustie the most difficult of the three venues

• Ryder-hero Tommy 10/111.00 on favourite links surface

• LIV star Gooch 18/119.00 to shine in Scotland

Tournament Notes

• First played in 2001, this will be the 22nd staging of the popular pro-am event. It wasn't held in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic;

• Once again, the tournament will be contested over three links courses, namely the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns. This has remained unchanged throughout the history of the event;

• On days one to three, the 168 professionals and their amateur partners will play 18 holes 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 Notes

• 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;

• All three venues, because of their links' nature, become much more difficult in windy conditions;

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

Latest betting for this week's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

Stroke Averages

Lowest 10 in Links Championship (2016-22)

Average .... (Rounds)
68.92: Tommy Fleetwood (24)
69.00: Hao Tong Li (12)
69.55: Victor Perez (11)
69.65: Joakim Lagergren (23)
69.87: Eddie Pepperell (23)
69.91: Robert MacIntyre (11)
69.93: Tapio Pulkkanen (15)
69.95: Ross Fisher (21)
70.00: Jeung-Hun Wang (11)
70.07: Matthew Jordan (15)
Min. No. of Rounds = 10
Only those entered this week are included in table

Betfair Sportsbook

Dunhill Links Ch`ship Top Tips: Five To Watch

Dean Burmester 40/141.00: Has spent most of 2023 on the LIV Tour where he has posted a brace of podium finishes.

Tommy Fleetwood 10/111.00: The player who sealed Europe's famous and somewhat unexpected victory at the Ryder Cup on Sunday. Much depends on his state of mind this week, as the popular Englishman could still be in party mood come Thursday's opening round. Twice a runner-up in this event, and three other top-five finishes. Always feels at home on a links course.

Talor Gooch 18/119.00: A three-time winner on the Saudi-based LIV Tour this year. The American finished tied-34th at The Old Course in the 2022 Open Championship.

Billy Horschel 25/126.00: The world No 49 will be contesting his fourth DP World Tour event since the start of September. Was tied-10th in this tournament last year.

Callum Shinkwin 80/181.00: Runner-up 12 months ago and in September's BMW-sponsored PGA Championship at Wentworth tied-7th.

MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut

Note: List Contains Leading Reserves