Golf tips and predictions for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
It is not just the likes of Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Bill Murray who bring star power to this week’s Dunhill Links Championship, with Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm heading a stellar list of golfers.
McIlroy and Rahm will both be desperate to go one better after suffering painful play-off defeats in their last starts. It is no surprise most bookies make them joint favourites at around 7-1.
Throw in Ryder Cup team-mates Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Robert MacIntyre, and Shane Lowry – plus five time Major winner Brooks Koepka and double BMW PGA champion Billy Horschel – and it really is a cracking field
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Golf tips
Defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick is at longer odds than any of those rivals. He is a best-priced 40-1, despite his impressive three shot victory last year.
But Fitzpatrick has struggled this year. So maybe the bookies have got that one right – and the only shorter priced player who offers real value in my book is in-form Swede Alex Noren, a 25-1 shot.
Noren has been close to landing this title a couple of times.
He was tied second on his last appearance two years ago, was third a few years back, and his worst finish in his last four visits was a share of 15th. So he can certainly handle anything the Scottish weather can throw at him.
Another Swede worth considering is Sebastian Soberberg, who was fifth here last year at big odds. He can be backed at 80-1 this time.
Soderbeg was in sizzling form in mid-summer, when he rattled off a win, two seconds and a third in quick succession.
A back problem halted the momentum, and he has missed the cut twice since returning to action. But both times it was by just one shot, and he should be rid of the rust by now.
Continuing the Scandinavian theme, British Masters champion Niklas Norgaard of Denmark is another player who catches the eye at 50-1. He finished seventh in this event two years ago, and occupied the same position at Wentworth.
Longshots often go close in this event – like Marcus Armitage, one of three joint runners-up a year ago, despite coming in on the back of four missed cuts in a row.
He is a best-priced 300-1, and last year’s effort makes that look big. Similarly, Frenchman Antoine Rozner, 4th and 7th here in the last two years, should not be ruled out at 100-1.
Finally, Joe Dean did us an each way favour when finishing in a share of third last week at 200-1. He is the same price this time, so it may be worth re-investing some of those Spanish Open returns.
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Unlike the Dunhill, the Sanderson Farms Championship on the PGA is desperately short of big names. And that is reflected in a wide open market.
World No 34 Nick Dunlap is the highest ranked golfer in the field and Denny McCarthy – listed five places below him – is the only other player from the world’s top 50.
Surprisingly, neither of them is favourite this week. Keith Mitchell is as low as 18-1, presumably based on a couple of 12th placed finishes in his last two starts, while Seamus Power is second best on most lists.
I would prefer Dunlap over either of them. He won on the Tour this year while he was still an amateur, and has produced a couple more decent performances. So a top quote of 30-1 is not to be sniffed at.
Old favourite Eric Cole’s consistency makes him a tempting option at around 40-1, especially as he is the third highest ranked player here as the world No 53.
Matt McCarty, a three-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour this year to sew up promotion to the top tier, looks more than capable of making his mark at this level. So a 50-1 quote seems pretty reasonable.
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