2026 Alfred Dunhill Links: On-fire Fitzpatrick the favourite to win second Dunhill Links title
Winning 5 or more times across the PGA TOUR and DP World Tour in a single year is an achievement usually reserved for the greats of the modern game. Since the World Golf Rankings were introduced in 1986 only Tiger Woods, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Colin Montgomerie, Lee Westwood, Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Nick Price, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Ian Woosnam, Jordan Spieth, Sandy Lyle, and Greg Norman achieving this stunning feat. This week, one of the contenders for a World Golfer of the Year, and surely a candidate for the AGW's Golfer of the Year, Matt Fitzpatrick, has an opportunity to join those icons.
A sensational short-game display on Sunday saw the 2022 US Open Champion complete a dominant victory in the FedEx Open de France, lifting a fourth trophy of 2026 and moving to World Number 4, just below Cameron Young, Rory McIlroy and the dominant World Number 1, Scottie Scheffler. Up next for the Sheffield man is the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, a tournament he has won before, overcoming the field and the weather in 2023.
Fitzpatrick has demonstrated his skills on the links already this season, finishing in a tie for fourth place at the Genesis Scottish Open, and he may even launch an unlikely bid to win the Race to Dubai should he claim a second victory in this tournament at the weekend. Fitzpatrick has enjoyed arguably the best year of his career, winning four times, and recording 6 other top-10 finishes, and is the joint favourite to win the 2026 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at 9/1 with PaddyPower, alongside another English hope.
Tommy Fleetwood's favourite tournament is the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, and he has come so close to winning it over the years, finishing as runner-up in 2014 among many good weeks. The Southport man has also won the Team Championship before, alongside Ogden Phipps II in 2019.
Tommy comes into the event off the back of a consistent but frustrating season of top ten finishes, but no wins. The Englishman finished in a tie for fourth place at The Open Championship, emphasising his credentials on links courses. Unfortunately the Englishman had to withdraw from last week's FedEx Open de France due to illness, and that followed a missed cut at Wentworth in the BMW PGA Championship. He will be hoping a return to the Home of Golf lifts his spirits. In 2018 Fleetwood shot a magnificent round of 63 on the Championship Course at Carnoustie, and finished in 3rd place here in 2024, just three shots behind Mr Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Tyrrell Hatton.
The players who have won a single DP World Tour event 4 or more times is a very elite collection of golfers: Ernie Els (7 World Match Play Championships), Rory McIlroy (4 Dubai Desert Classics), Tiger Woods (7 WGC-Championships and 8 WGC-Bridgestone Invitationals), Seve Ballesteros (4 Open de France and 5 World Match Play Championships), Nick Faldo (4 BMW PGA Championships), Bernhard Langer (5 German Opens and 4 German Masters) and Miguel Angel Jimenez (4 Hong Kong Opens).
This week Tyrrell Hatton can join those legends of the sport by winning the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship for a fourth time. Hatton first lifted the trophy in 2016, before successfully defending the title in 2017. Then 2 years ago he shot a staggering 61 in the third round at Kingsbarns to surge into the lead, and a final round of 70 saw him win for the third time.
The Englishman specialises in winning the biggest DP World Tour events outside the Majors, and he comes into the week with two Major top ten finishes and a win at Valderrama on LIV Golf.
Hatton is the joint fourth favourite for the championship at 16/1, alongside a Bona-fide legend of the sport, who also has past experience of winning around the Old Course.
29 years ago Justin Rose won the St Andrews Links Trophy, the greatest amateur title on the Old Course, this week he arrives a genuine challenger to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship as a professional. Rose won the 1997 St Andrews Links Trophy, beating Norwegian Morten Orveland in a playoff with a par after Orveland drove into the Swilcan Burn with his tee shot.
The Englishman has won on every continent, lifted the US Open, claimed Olympic gold, reached World Number One and been a starring member of the European Ryder Cup team. But a win here, at the Home of Golf, would be the crowning glory of his career, cementing his place in history as a winner on the Old Course.
Rose finished in a tie for 34th place at the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, a distant 8 shots off the winner Victor Perez. In Rose's formative years as a pro he finished in a tie for 17th in the inaugural Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, and only Rose, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Padraig Harrington will be playing this week and teed it up in the first event 25 years ago.
Rose is just behind the defending champion with the Bookies, with Robert MacIntyre listed as a 14/1 shot with PaddyPower.
MacIntyre became the first Scot to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship since Colin Montgomerie in 2005 last year, adding the Alfred Dunhill Links to his Genesis Scottish Open title won in 2023.
Robert has fallen from 7 to 19 in the Official World Golf Rankings in 2026, but he has been consistent and performed well in some of the bigger events. He finished in a tie for 14th at the Irish Open at Trump Doonbeg, and in a tie for 3rd at the Genesis Scottish Open, demonstrating his links prowess.
Speaking on his win in 2025 MacIntyre said: “Look, to win anywhere in the world is special, but for a Scotsman, I won The Scottish Open. To win the Dunhill at the Home of Golf, there's no other place you want to win golf tournaments, and the only one that potentially would top this would be an Open Championship at St Andrews.
“But no, this is a special, special win, and for me as a Scotsman, it just elevates that.”
Walker Cup winner Josh Hill will make his professional debut this week after turning pro and receiving an invitation.
Other potential contenders for the title include 5-time Major winner Brooks Koepka. Koepka first played in this championship more than a decade ago, and he states that the Old Course is his favourite course, so surely one day he will seriously contend to win the title.
It has been a frustrating season on his return to the PGA TOUR after leaving LIV Golf last winter, but he has shown promise of being on the verge of a return to form. The American 5-time Major Champion finished in a tie for 15th place last year, in a tie for 10th place in 2024, and in a tie for 7th place in 2018.
2025 Australian PGA Champion David Puig, and 2026 LIV Golf Indianapolis winner Michael La Sasso will lead an exciting crop of young talented golfers from around the world to play in the 25th Anniversary Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Puig and La Sasso joined LIV Golf straight from college, and both have the game to do well over the Old Course, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie.
Puig finished 9th on the season-long individual standings in the 2026 LIV Golf League, but has also played a significant number of tournaments across the DP World Tour and Asian Tour since 2023. The 24-year-old Spaniard has won the 2023 International Series Singapore, 2024 Malaysian Open, and the 2025 Australian PGA Championship.
American Michael La Sasso chose to forego a spot at The Masters to join LIV Golf, and he broke through for victory over Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau in perhaps the final ever LIV Golf event last month. 22-year-old La Sasso has chosen to play in DP World Tour Q-School and has made it through the first stage so far.
Fellow exciting and young LIV Golf players Tom McKibbin, Caleb Surratt, Jose Luis Ballester and Elvis Smylie will also be in the field at this year's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
The celebrity field is, it has to be said, lacking a bit of modern star power, with the usual suspects returning once again including Singer-songwriter Ronan Keating, Keane’s Tom Chaplin, Linkin Park’s Dave Farrell, and US rock legend Huey Lewis also return to the championship.
Olympic rowing legend Sir Steve Redgrave will have played in all 25 Alfred Dunhill Links Championships when he tees off in October, and he will be joining other famous sportsmen including 11-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater, England cricketer Kevin Pietersen, also making his tenth appearance, Dutch football’s Ruud Gullit, and champion jump jockey Sir Tony (A.P.) McCoy.
Will Ahmed, founder and CEO of wearable technology company WHOOP, entrepreneur Peter Jones, star of Dragons Den, and media celebrity Piers Morgan are also playing.
Sir Steve Redgrave said: “It's truly enjoyable and an honour to be part of the Dunhill Links. I was invited to the first year in 2001 and I’ve been invited back every year. I really want to congratulate Alfred Dunhill on creating this wonderful event which has been such a marvellous sporting occasion for 25 years now. We all enjoy the golf, the fun and the camaraderie, but we all know behind the scenes there is so much work going on quietly to raise money for charity through the Alfred Dunhill Links Foundation.”
Regular participant Bill Murray has unfortunately withdrawn.
This is a truly special week, and for SHANK it is annually the biggest event the platform covers, and it has several highlights, including the now traditional fireworks display on Saturday evening, which is scheduled to take place at 8.25pm. The display is best viewed from the Links Road bordering the 18th fairway and 17th green.
The Annual Fireworks display is one of the unique attractions of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and will be sure to bring thousands of local residents out onto the Links Road. Be sure to pay a visit to our sponsors Birdies St. Andrews on Bell Street on the way back from the Fireworks.
The draw for the first three rounds of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship will be released on Tuesday evening, and you'll find the first reaction to that across SHANK.
SHANK, by Matt Hooper
Matt Hooper is an Associate Member of the Sports Journalists Association
SHANK's coverage of the 2026 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is sponsored by Birdies St. Andrews - the best Pizza Takeaway in St Andrews, open until 3am daily
13 Bell Street, St Andrews KY16 9UR
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