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Alfred Dunhill Links Championship tournament history

The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is the DP World Tour's only pro-am. It's only been in existence since 2001 but it feels like an established tradition, and this will be the 25^th edition.

A stellar line-up of pros and celebs do battle over three iconic links venues over four days, with those who make the cut after round three getting to play the next year's Open Championship venue, St Andrews, for a second time on Sunday.

It's an event that often gets affected by the weather and two of the last three renewals were played over only 54 holes.

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Event structure

Each pro is partnered by one amateur and the teams of two each play the three separate links courses (detailed below) in rotation over the first three days. The cut is made after the third round, when the top 60 pros and ties and the top 20 teams progress to the final round at St Andrews on Sunday.

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Venues and course details

St Andrews (Old Course), Fife, Scotland
Par 72, 7,318 yards

Affectionately known as the 'The Old Lady', St Andrews is the course every golfer wants to play. It hosts the Open Championship every five years, it's universally referred to as 'the home of golf' and, like all links courses, it plays very differently depending on the weather. 

In benign conditions on day four nine years ago, runner-up, Ross Fisher, fired an 11-under-par 61 to break the course record and Tyrrell Hatton equalled the feat in round three in 2024 when going on to win the title for a third time. 

The par four 17^th hole, known as the 'road hole', is the toughest on the course and a par there is always acceptable. The back-nine is tougher than the front-nine and the toughest stretch on the course is between holes 11 and 17. The greens at St Andrews are usually set to run at around 10 on the stimpmeter.

Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland
Par 72, 7,394 yards

Carnoustie has been used for the Open Championship eight times to date and it was the scene of Francesco Molinari's magnificent triumph seven years ago. On the previous occasion, in 2007, Padraig Harrington edged out Sergio Garcia in a play-off, but it's best remembered as the venue where Jean van de Velde lost the plot in 1999 when on the 72nd hole, he blew a three-shot lead after finding the Barry Burn. 

Often referred to as Carnasty, Carnoustie is also famous for its treacherous pot bunkers and it's the toughest of the three venues faced but the set-up this week, because they have to avoid making the amateurs looking foolish, is nowhere near as tough as it is at the Open. Tommy Fleetwood shot 63 to break the course record in this event nine years ago. 

The greens at Carnoustie usually run at around 10.5 on the stimpmeter.

Kingsbarns, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland
Par 72, 7,227 yards

The newest of the three venues and located just seven miles from St Andrews, Kingsbarns is a Kyle Philips design that opened to much acclaim in 2000. With generous fairways and few water hazards, it's not a stern test in good weather. The 2012 winner, Branden Grace, opened with a round of 60 at Kingsbarns, but it's exposed and a tough place to play on a windy day. 

The greens at Kingsbarns usually run at around 9.5 on the stimpmeter.

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Weather forecast

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TV coverage

Live on Sky Sports all four day. Starting at midday on Thursday.

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Last 10 winners with pre-event Betfair Exchange prices

2025 - Robert Macintyre -18 17.016/1 (54 holes)
2024 - Tyrrell Hatton -24 16.015/1
2023 - Matt Fitzpatrick -19 16.015/1 (54 holes)
2022 - Ryan Fox -15 80.079/1
2021 - Danny Willett -18 120.0119/1
2020 - Event Cancelled
2019 - Victor Perez -22 460.0459/1
2018 - Lucas Bjerregaard -15 65.064/1
2017 - Tyrrell Hatton -24 25.024/1
2016 - Tyrrell Hatton -23 60.059/1
2015 - Thorbjorn Olesen -18 240.0239/1

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A statistical look at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

The stats produced for this event always appear slightly questionable.

Last year's winner, Robert Macintyre, ranked 37^th for Driving Distance and only 158^th for Driving Accuracy.

A year earlier, Tyrrell Hatton, ranked 33^rd for DD and 23^rd for DA but the 2023 winner, Matthew Fitzpatrick, ranked only 123^rd for DD and 53^rd for DA.

How much we can trust that data is debatable but it's clear that what you do off the tee here is usually irrelevant. Finding greens is nearly always important, although last year's winner, Macintyre, only ranked 32^nd for Greens In Regulation.

The shock 2014 winner, Oliver Wilson, ranked in the 60s for Greens In Regulation but that was unusually high, and 11 of the last 14 winners have ranked inside the top 10 for GIR.

Fitzpatrick topped the GIR rankings three years ago and Ryan Fox ranked only ninth 12 months earlier but the three winners before him - Danny Willett, Victor Perez, and Lucas Bjerregaard - all ranked third.

Given how easily the courses are set up, to accommodate the amateurs in the field, those that contend make lots of birdies.

Macintyre topped the Par 4 Scoring last year and the runner-up in 2024, Nicolas Colsaerts, was the only man in the field to play the par fours better than the winner.

As many as five of the last eight winners have topped the Par 4 Scoring rankings for the week.

Unless the weather is poor, this is nearly always a birdie-fest, where going low is essential.

Hatton's tournament total of 24-under-par in 2024 equalled the record he set back in 2017 when he defended the title having got to -23 in 2016, so he clearly likes it here in benign conditions.

Hatton finished well 12 months ago to claim second place as Macintyre amassed an 18-under-par total over just 54 holes.

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Previous links form appears impetrative

The shock 2019 winner, Victor Perez, was hard to spot before the off. He was the first Frenchman to take the title, and he didn't have any links form to boast or any form at any links type tracks.

Previous links form is usually an essential prerequisite to winning this event, so punters were left scratching their heads, but not for long. It was only after he'd won that the story broke widely that his girlfriend was Scottish, that he'd moved to Dundee, and that he was playing lots of links golf.

Lucas Bjerregaard didn't have an abundance of obvious previous form either, but he had form at the Qatar Masters and his only previous DP World Tour success had come at the Portugal Masters - two events played at venues where links form holds up well. He'd also contended up until the halfway point of the 2014 Scottish Open but that was as much links form as he had in his locker.

Previous links form is very important here as a rule though and the first 17 event winners, as well as the last five champs - Macintyre, Hatton, Fitzpatrick, Fox and Danny Willett - have all been renowned links players.

Look closely at the results of the Irish Open whenever that's been staged at a links venue, as it was this year and in 2024, the last 16 editions of the Scottish Open, and, of course, the Open Championship, for clues. 

Previous tournament form has counted for plenty here too. Even though they were all outsiders, matched at triple-figure prices, the 2021 winner, Danny Willett, and the three winners between 2013 and 2015, had all finished inside the top three in the event before they won.

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Historically a great event for Brits and long-shots

Having grown up playing links golf, players from the UK and Ireland have a sizable advantage and an incredibly good event record. As many as 17 of the 24 winners to date have been English, Scottish, or Irish and eight different Englishmen have won the title. 

Fox is a New Zealander, Branden Grace is the sole South African winner and Germany's Martin Kaymer took the title in 2010. The other three winners have been Scandinavians. 

The last three winners haven been fairly well fancied and it's an event that seems to have changed a bit of late. 

Although not yet major champions, the last two winners have both been as high as number five in the Official World Rankings and after Fox's win at Royal Birkdale in the Open in July, the three winners before Hatton and Macintyre are all major champions. 

The top-class players have dominated lately but two off the major winners went off at big prices and outsiders have a great record historically. 

Although generally an 80.079/1 chance, Fox was matched at 95.094/1 before the off four years ago and despite his obvious claims, because he hadn't had a top-ten all year, mainly down to injury and illness, Willett was matched at a high of 150.0149/1 before the off in 2021. 

Perez was matched at a high of 660.0659/1 eight years ago, Thorbjorn Olesen was matched at 270.0269/1 in 2015, and the year before that, playing on a sponsor's invite, a woefully out of form Oliver Wilson was understandably matched at 1000.0999/1. 

David Howell was matched at 240.0239/1 before the off 13 years ago, Branden Grace was getting on for a triple-figure 14 years ago, and Michael Hoey was a huge outsider in 2011. 

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Winner's position and pre-final round Betfair Exchange price

2025 - Robert Macityre - tied for the lead 2.727/4
2024 - Tyrrell Hatton - leading by one 1.434/9
2023 - Matt Fitzpatrick - led by a stroke 1.75/7 (54 holes)
2022 - Ryan Fox - T2nd, trailing by four 8.07/1
2021 - Danny Willett - leading by three 2.6613/8
2020 - Event Cancelled
2019 - Victor Perez - tied for the lead 4.57/2
2018 - Lucas Bjerregaard tied 5^th - trailing by four 22.021/1
2017 - Tyrrell Hatton - leading by five 1.211/5
2016 - Tyrrell Hatton - leading by three 2.01/1
2015 - Thorbjorn Olesen - leading by three 2.021/1

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A fast start is essential

It's really difficult to make up ground in this event and after 24 renewals, we've witnessed just three winners trailing by more than four strokes after round one - Paul Lawrie in 2001, Stephen Gallagher in 2004, and the 2023 champ, Fox.

Having led by four strokes through 54 holes, Richard Mansell shot 76 in round four four years ago to finish seventh, but 11 of the last 14 winners were leading or tied for the lead with a round to go and three 54-hole leaders have been beaten in a playoff so this is a hard event at which to make up ground.

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Carnoustie the best place to start on Thursday

Getting to play Carnoustie on Thursday is the most advantageous draw and eight of the last 12 winners all began the week there but things have changed a bit of late, with four of the last eight winners kicking off the event at St Andrews. 

The draw is far from a draw as such with most of the big names getting the Carnoustie - Kingsbarns- St Andrews rotation over the first few days but we have to go all the way back to 2012 for the last winner to kick off the week at Kingsbarns (Branden Grace) and he had to shoot 60 there! 

Playing the toughest course on day one (Carnoustie) can be advantageous but we need to keep an eye on the weather forecast. Playing there on a really tough day can render a player's plight hopeless and the luck of the draw can come into play, but the 2024 edition provided some interesting insight, and it seems playing Kingsbarns in the most benign weather is a huge plus.

Kingsbarns is the easiest of the three courses played, but it was very interesting to see how tough it played on Friday two years ago.

Kingsbarns averaged 67.88 on Thursday in benign conditions but only 70.05 on Friday, even though that was where all the elite players played that day.

Carnoustie, which is the toughest of the three courses encountered, averaged 70.66 in the calm weather on Thursday, which was almost three strokes more than Kingsbarns, but it only averaged 71.05 on Friday, exactly a stroke more than Kingsbarns on the same day, so even though it's the easiest of the three tracks played, it's not the best course to play in the wind.

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