Rory McIlroy is a solid favorite to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, which begins on Thursday in Scotland. It is links golf this week, as the action is held at St Andrews Old Course, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns. McIlroy has been struggling with an injury but he played well last week at the British Masters, finishing second. McIlroy is the top betting choice this week at +550 and then there is a big gap to the next six players who are listed at +2050. Let’s look at this event, odds and predictions.
Alfred Dunhill Links Championship Odds
Rory McIlroy +550
Branden Grace +2050
Lee Westwood +2050
Matthew Fitzpatrick +2050
Shane Lowry +2050
Tommy Fleetwood +2050
Tyrrell Hatton +2050
Chris Wood +3050
Paul Dunne +3050
Eddie Pepperell +4050
George Coetzee +4050
Lucas Bjerregaard +4050
Martin Kaymer +4050
Thorbjorn Olesen +4050
Joost Luiten +4550
Richie Ramsay +4550
Ross Fisher +4550
Graeme Storm +5550
J.B. Holmes +5550
David Horsey +6050
Ryan Fox +6050
Thomas Detry +6050
Byeong Hun An +6550
Julian Suri +6550
Graeme McDowell +7050
Kiradech Aphibarnrat +7050
Marc Warren +7050
Richard Sterne +7050
Alexander Bjork +8050
Fabrizio Zanotti +8050
Padraig Harrington +8050
Scott Hend +8050
Alexander Levy +9050
Jordan Smith +9050
Nacho Elvira +9050
Odds Analysis
Rory McIlroy +550
I have done really well going against Rory in the past couple of months but perhaps he is finally getting healthy. He shot 64-63 last weekend and finished second. He has been really good in this event with three second place finishes. I am still not entirely convinced Rory is over his injury, as he admitted that he surged last week because he had a chance to win. What happens in this event if he starts slow? I think he is overvalued at these odds.
Branden Grace +2050
I am never really thrilled about taking players coming overseas and playing an event with little time to rest. Grace was in the Presidents Cup in New Jersey and now he is playing in Scotland. He did win this event in 2012 but his best effort in this tournament since then is a tie for 25th.
Lee Westwood +2050
Westwood could have some value this week, as he has played well in the last month with a top three at the KLM Open and a tie for 9th at the Czech Masters. He won this event in 2003 and he has had five top 11 finishes in this tournament.
Matthew Fitzpatrick +2050
Oftentimes I go with Fitzpatrick but not this week, as he has never shown much on links courses in his career. He didn’t even make the Top 40 in the Irish, Scottish or British Opens.
Shane Lowry +2050
I think Lowry is a live play at these odds. He loves playing links golf and he excels in bad weather. He has finished 3rd, 6th, 19th and 18th in this event the past four years.
Tommy Fleetwood +2050
I think Fleetwood has a chance to contend this week, as he is big bomber and his record in this event is strong, with a second place finish in 2014 and top five finishes in 2011 and 2013.
Tyrrell Hatton +2050
The defending champion loves links courses and he could be in the mix again for this win this year. He played well last week at the British Masters, so he comes into this event in strong form.
Chris Wood +3050
My longshot this week is Wood, who has finished 4th, 9th, 7th and 15th in his last four tries in this event. He has played well on links courses in the past including a tie for 14th in this year’s Open.
Course: We get three courses this week for this event, The Old Course at St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns. The Old Course features some of the most famous holes in golf including the 17th hole, which is known as The Road Hole. The course plays fair in good weather but it is extremely difficult to play in the wind. Carnoustie is on the same cost but on the other side of the city of Dundee. It is known as a beast of a course that has the nickname of Car-nasty’. Kingsbarns is located just south of St Andrews and is the easiest of the three courses. It is an exposed links course with very few water hazards.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel
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