The DP World Tour arrives back in Scotland with the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship held across three venues, The Old Course, St Andrews and Kingsbarns, both in the Kingdom of Fife and just over the water at Carnoustie, Angus.
It’s a tournament I always look for to every year and what a treat we are in for this week with a star-studded lineup and more Scottish Links Golf for us all to enjoy. So let’s try and narrow down the field to find my best selections for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
The 168 field with the top 60 including ties making it to Sunday's final round will all be competing for a share of the $5M prize purse with the winner collecting the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship title and a winner’s cheque for $833,500.
Danny Willet returns to defend the title he won at the home of golf last year but will he ever get over that freak show at the Fortinet Championship less than a fortnight ago when he looked certain to finally claim his maiden PGA Tour event?
How Willet never went on to win that tournament I’ll never know and neither will he probably. He had a 3ft putt to win the tournament but would have had two attempts from that distance had Max Homa, his playing partner not chipped in from the bunker on the 18th but somehow Willet missed the putt.
Not only that he slid it even further past the hole and then missed the 4ft putt on the way back which would have forced a playoff, truly remarkable, it just shows what pressure can do to anyone or maybe it was the shock when Homa chipped in that forced the horror show that followed for Willet.
Who says golf is not exciting?
You can also read my preview and my best betting tips for Sanderson Farms Championship over on the PGA Tour this week in Mississippi.
The key attribute this week is harder to dissect across three venues and also the pro-am aspect. Rounds will be much longer with the pro-ams who will all play the three courses then back to The Old Course at the home of golf for the final round for all those making the cut.
These tricky dance floors require a delicate touch so a hot putter will prove pivotal come Sunday afternoon.
The weather is forecast to be a mixed bag, Thursday and Saturday will see the best of the weather with showers forecast on Friday and Sunday. Breezes could pose some problems, especially on Friday when gusts are expected up to 24mph.
This event will be screened on Sky Sports Golf with live coverage starting at midday on Thursday.
So let’s move on with this week's Alfred Dunhill betting tips.
Tommy Fleetwood 18/1 EW Bet365
For my first and main pick in Scotland, I’m going to advise Tommy Fleetwood 18/1 EW Bet365. The 31-year-old Englishman simply adores links golf, especially St Andrews where he finished 4th at The 150th Open Championship in July. He also finished 4th the week before at the Genesis Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club.
Tommy has only played at seventeen events this year but has finished inside the Top 20 on no less than ten occasions. Six of those were inside the Top 10 while three of those efforts were Top 5 finishes.
Fleetwood has the luxury of playing on both the PGA and DP World Tours, that’s why he’s ranked inside the Worlds Top 30 at No28 so when using stats and figures, I’ll pick out some from both tours, On the DP World Tour this year his best figure is an important one this week where he ranks 11th for Greens in Regulation while over on the PGA the figures that stand out are 9th Sand, 8th Scoring Average at 69.653 and Save Percentage at 62.22%, 5th SG Around the Green.
Tommy hasn’t won an event this year across both Tours but I have a feeling that will all change this weekend when Tommy Fleetwood celebrates in St Andrews with title number six safely in the bag.
Robert MacIntyre 33/1 1-7 places Betfred
For my next suggestion, I’m going to single out Robert MacIntyre 33/1 1-7 places Betfred. The 26 yrs old flying Scotsman from Oban returns to familiar territory and this terrain could be all Bob needs for another victory after his impressive recent win at the Italian Open just a fortnight ago. Bobs having yet another fantastic year and finished inside the Top 10 again last week at the Cazoo Open De France where he earned a very respectable 8th place.
That’s now six Top 20 finishes for the Scotsman this year with three of those inside the Top 10. He now has two DP World Tour crowns in the bag and is another who can skip across the big pond to play in lucrative events including majors.
Again at The Masters this year Bob was impressive finishing 23rd at Augusta with other performances worth a mention that include 9th at the Ras Al Khaimah Classic,12th At Made in Himmerland, 13th at the Irish Open and 15th at the Genesis Open over on the PGA Tour.
Looking at some stats, on the DP World Tour, Bob ranks 17th for Average Putts per Round at 28.56 and 10th for Sand Saves. Both those figures will prove important come Sunday. With that recent victory in Italy as well as last week's 8th place in France, Bob arrives home in the form of his life and he could use this to his advantage along with the patriotic home support to make it a hattrick of DP World Tour titles when he's crowned the Alfred Dunhill Links Champion in his homeland.
Eddie Pepperell 60/1 EW 1-6 places Unibet
For my next tip, I’m going to point you all in the direction of a player who’s shown some recent form and he’s been flashing up on the radar, Eddie Pepperell 60/1 EW 1-6 places Unibet. The 31yrs old Englishman from Oxford seems to be priced generously in my book and may have been overlooked by some of the firms here.
He’s as short as 40/1 with some firms so my advice is to snap the 60/1 while it’s available. In his last seven tournaments, steady Eddie has finished inside the Top 20 at all attempts apart from one where he finished 32nd, even that’s still respectable.
He was unlucky to finish runner-up at the Hero Open just a few months back and also finished inside the Top 10 at the Czech Masters only a matter of weeks ago. Pepperell has been consisted more than most in this field recently and could bring that form to Scotland to make it his third victory on the Tour having already bagged the British Masters and also the Qatar Masters. He ranks 6th on the DP World Tour for driving accuracy and although this won’t be the most important stat this week on these Links tracks, it will help to keep the ball on the fairways as often as possible.
I’ve been watching Pepperell closely over the past few months and he has been producing quality golf week in and week out so it would come as no surprise to see Eddie Pepperell on the winner's podium at The Old Course St Andrews this weekend to the joy of both us and him as he scoops the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the tasty price of 60/1.
Also safe in the knowledge that a place in the Top 7 will return a tidy profit.
For my final selection, it’s the customary match bet and for this week's NAP I'm going to advise Victor Perez to get the better of Danny Willet over 72 holes who I still don’t think will have recovered after that horrific show at the Fortinet Championship 5/6 Bet365 Nap.
In December 2020 we sadly 
@the caddy thanks for this! Thoughts on your previous picks like Syme, Law, Ferguson here?
Hey thanks my friend & not a problem . Good luck with your selections, my three tips this week for the Alfred Dunhill are all in the mix , hopefully the weather will improve over the weekend ⛳️