Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm are among a host of stars in action on the DP World Tour this week as attention turns to Scotland and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Established in 2001, the Dunhill Links is a pro-am which is staged at three Scottish venues – the Old Course at St Andrews and Carnoustie Golf Links – both of which are Open Championship courses, plus the modern Kingsbarns Golf Links.
Players rotate around the three courses over the first three rounds before the final round at the Old Course on Sunday.
As the tournament name suggests, links experience is almost essential and recent winners have come from towards the front of the market with 2022 US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick taking the title last season.
McIlory, a runner-up in his last two DP World Tour outings, is 6/1 to claim this title for the first time while Rahm, a play-off loser in the Open de Espana last Sunday, can be backed at the same odds.
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Alfred Dunhill Links Championship betting tips
Brooks Koepka to win & each-way @ 18/1
While both McIlroy and Rahm deserve respect given their world-class status, there is another multiple Major champion lurking slightly further down the betting who catches the eye on a rare DP World Tour start.
Like Rahm, Brooks Koepka features predominantly on the LIV Golf Tour, but unlike the Spaniard, who is playing to retain his Ryder Cup eligibility, the American doesn’t need to tee it up this week.
Koepka’s motivations for playing the Dunhill Links will be known only to him, but he has described St Andrews as his favourite venue and he’s performed well in this tournament in the past, finishing ninth, second and eighth in three appearances between 2014 and 2018.
The American, a five-time winner on the LIV Tour, including at the Greenbrier in August, has finished in the top ten of the Open Championship on four occasions, so he’s well equipped for links golf.
Robert MacIntyre to win & each-way @ 25/1
Scottish hopes will be pinned on Robert MacIntyre and the 28-year-old Oban left-hander, whose father Dougie will join him as his pro-am partner, looks to have every chance of delighting the home crowd.
It’s been a superb year for MacIntyre. He won the Canadian Open on the PGA Tour in June then came back to Scotland to win the co-sanctioned Scottish Open in July.
He’s kicked on since, reaching the Tour Championship on the PGA Tour, where he finished 17th despite injury concerns.
Seemingly fit and healthy again, MacIntyre finished fifth at the Irish Open at another links course, Royal County Down, at the beginning of September then he was 12th at Wentworth’s BMW PGA Championship on his most recent start.
Grant Forrest to win & each-way @ 60/1
With links knowledge to the fore, this looks like the week to support another Scot in Grant Forrest.
Forrest is a true links golfer. He won numerous illustrious links titles as an amateur and he’s finished in a share of tenth in this event in each of the last two seasons.
He returns to his homeland in fine form, sharing fifth place with his compatriot MacIntyre in the Irish Open, then finishing 30th at Wentworth and third in Spain on Sunday.
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