The Home Of Golf
Unlike most events, the Alfred Dunhill Championship is unusual as the tournament is played across three golf courses. The Old Course at St. Andrews, Carnoustie, and the Kingsbarn Golf Club. All three courses are unique in their own right, with two of them, St. Andrews and Carnoustie, Open Championship venues.
Links Form Key
The key to finding the winner in the Alfred Dunhill Championship is to look at players who thrive on links golf. If you look back at recent winners, Ryan Fox, Tyrell Hatton, and Matt Fitzpatrick had all previously shown a liking to playing well on links courses. That is something I’ll keep looking at when it comes to my selections this week.
McIlroy’s Time Has Come
When it comes to my main pick this week, it has to be Rory McIlroy. If you’re a regular follower of golf, then you’ll know he’s playing as well; he just keeps coming up short. In his last event he finished runner up after a playoff in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, and the time before he finished in the same position at the Irish Open. People have questioned his mentality at times to get over the line, but there was very little he could do at Wentworth as he made birdie on the last Billy Horschel made a superb eagle. He was just beaten by a bit of magic on the day.
Switching back to links golf won’t be a problem for Rory. The Northern Irishman has fond memories of this part of the world, which included him being the leading amateur when he burst on the scene in the 2007 Open Championship at Carnoustie. He also carded the joint-lowest opening round at the Open Championship in 2010, when it was hosted on the Old Course at St. Andrews. He has a lot going for him this week, and I think this can be his time to enter the winners’ circle once again.
Noren The Green Finder
Next up on my shortlist is Alex Noren. The 42-year-old has been playing well this season, and he has proven form at the Alfred Dunhill Championship. In 2022 he finished runner up, and the year before he finished in a tie for 12th place. The Swede also comes into this tournament in fair form, which included a 13th place finish at the Open Championship back in July.
Also another positive for him is his ability to hit the green. It should be noted that 11 of the last 12 winners were inside the Top 10 for Green In Regulation stats. This season Noren is just outside the top 10 on the DP World Tour stats for Green In Regulation in 11th place. If he can keep that up this week, then I can’t see any reason why he should feature high on the leaderboard.
Forrest Can Continue His Good Run
My last selection for this week is going to be Grant Forrest. A few of you might not be familiar with him, but he’s a player who is coming into form. The 31-year-old has been playing some of the best golf of his career. He’s recorded two top-five finishes at the Irish Open and Open de Espana in recent weeks.
Moreover, he will enjoy coming back to St. Andrews,. In 2014 he won the St. Andrews Links Trophy as an amateur, which is a very prestigious event. The key to his game is putting. Last week he finished eighth in the putting rankings at the Open de Espana, gaining over 1.54 strokes over the field. If he can find his putting boots again this week, then he’ll be there or thereabouts.
Alfred Dunhill Selections
Rory McIlroy EW Was (6/1) Now (15/2)
Alex Noren EW Was (22/1) Now (25/1)
Grant Forrest EW (66/1)
