Thursday 2 October 2014 14:09, UK
With last weekend’s Ryder Cup still fresh in the mind, there has been a jubilant buzz in the air ahead of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
With another memorable European victory chalked up, the Tour has made the short 40-mile trip from Gleneagles to St Andrews in high spirits – and the fact there are four members of the triumphant European team competing this week, as well as their acclaimed captain, has only added to the party atmosphere.
It’s fair to say that a normal Tour event might feel rather anti-climactic given the scale and splendour of spectacle that preceded it, but such is the unique nature of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, it appears a good fit.
The event is held over three different links courses - St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns – and has a pro-am format with a host of big-name (and not so big-name) celebrities joining the professionals in a team competition.
Over the opening 54 holes, each professional and his amateur partner will play one round at each of the venues.
Those who survive the cut will head back to the Old Course at St Andrews on Sunday to decide the destiny of the two titles - both the main tournament prize as well as the pro-am segment of the event.
Betting is only focused on the former and there have been a number of high-profile winners in the tournament’s 13-year history to date, including Colin Montgomerie, Lee Westwood, Padraig Harrington and two of the aforementioned 2014 Ryder Cup participants, Martin Kaymer and Stephen Gallacher.
Over the years, Carnoustie has usually proved to be the highest-scoring of the three venues and that seems unlikely to change this week, with the Old Course and Kingsbarns traditionally producing the lowest scores of the week.
Lowest Rounds in the Alfred Dunhill Links Champiosnhip
60: Branden Grace (KB - 2012)
60: Peter Uihlein (KB – 2013)
62: Lee Westwood (KB - 2003)
62: Brian Davis (SA - 2003)
62: Graeme McDowell (SA - 2004)
62: Victor Dubuisson (SA - 2012)
62: George Coetzee (SA - 2012)
62: Chris Paisley (KB – 2013)
62: Paul Casey (SA – 2013)
St Andrews: Par 72; 7,279 yards
Carnoustie: Par 72; 7,412 yards
Kingbarns: Par 72; 7,150 yards
Winning Totals
2013: 265 (David Howell)
2012: 266 (Branden Grace)
2011: 266 (Michael Hoey)
2010: 271 (Martin Kaymer)
Round 1 Tee-times
St Andrews
Starting from Hole 1:
09:00 Robert Rock Oliver Fisher
09:11 Merrick Bremner Maximilian Kieffer
09:22 David Horsey Alvaro Quiros
09:33 Matteo Manassero James Kingston
09:44 Ricardo Santos Fabrizio Zanotti
09:55 Daan Huizing Marcel Siem
10:06 Darren Fichardt Morten Orum Madsen
10:17 Andrew Johnston Ross Fisher
10:28 Simon Dyson Marc Warren
10:39 Pablo Larrazabal Oliver Bekker
10:50 Jbe Kruger James Morrison
11:01 Gareth Maybin Brett Rumford
11:12 Darren Clarke Chris Wood
11:23 Sandy Lyle Graeme Storm
Starting from Hole 10:
09:00 Shiv Kapur Thomas Pieters
09:11 Eddie Pepperell Seve Benson
09:22 Marco Crespi Michael Hoey
09:33 Thomas Levet Ricardo Gonzalez
09:44 Gregory Havret Andrea Pavan
09:55 John Parry Jason Scrivener
10:06 Julien Quesne Victor Riu
10:17 Rikard Karlberg Jorge Campillo
10:28 Adrian Otaegui David McKenzie
10:39 Ulrich Van Den Berg Roope Kakko
10:50 Steve Webster Nick Cullen
11:01 JB Hansen Andy Sulliavn
11:12 Sihwan Kim Estanislao Goya
11:23 Francois Calmels Anders Hansen
Carnoustie
Starting at Hole 1:
09:00 Paul Casey Richie Ramsay
09:11 Oliver Wilson Louis De Jager
09:22 Ryan Palmer Ernie Els
09:33 Charl Schwartzel Rory McIlroy
09:44 Martin Kaymer Louis Oosthuizen
09:55 Colin Montgomerie Padraig Harrington
10:06 Thongchai Jaidee Danny Willett
10:17 Tommy Fleetwood Peter Uihlein
10:28 Branden Grace David Duval
10:39 Soren Hansen Francesco Molinari
10:50 Sir Nick Faldo Victor Dubuisson
11:01 Joost Luiten Stephen Gallacher
11:12 Edoardo Molinari David Howell
11:23 Robert Karlsson Paul McGinley
Starting from Hole 10:
09:00 Bernd Wiesberger Alexander Levy
09:11 Raphael Jacquelin Richard Sterne
09:22 George Coetzee Brooks Koepka
09:33 Thorbjorn Olesen Rafa Cabrera-Bello
09:44 Simon Khan Matthew Griffin
09:55 Lee Slattery Felipe Aguilar
10:06 Sam Hutsby Adrien Saddier
10:17 Kevin Phelan Simon Wakefield
10:28 Damien McGrane Simon Thornton
10:39 Jeev Milkha Singh Ruan De Smidt
10:50 Chris Doak Johan Carlsson
11:01 Gregory Bourdy Alejandro Canizares
11:12 Craig Lee Keith Horne
11:23 Mark Foster Haydn Porteous
Kingbarns
Starting from Hole 1:
09:00 Dimitrios Papadatos Romain Wattel
09:11 Nacho Elvira David Drysdale
09:22 Peter Lawrie Daniel Brooks
09:33 Nick Dougherty Matthew Nixon
09:44 Ashley Hall Moritz Lampert
09:55 Tyrrell Hatton Brandon Stone
10:06 Richard Finch Eduardo De La Riva
10:17 Emiliano Grillo Tom Lewis
10:28 John Hahn Richard Green
10:39 Joonas Granberg Paul Waring
10:50 Mikael Lundberg Brody Ninyette
11:01 Magnus A Carlsson Hennie Otto
11:12 Shane Lowry Kristoffer Broberg
11:23 Matthew Baldwin Wade Ormsby
Starting from Hole 10:
09:00 Peter Whiteford Ryan Evans
09:11 Garrick Porteous Carlos Del Moral
09:22 Scott Jamieson Paul Lawrie
09:33 Niclas Fasth Jamie McLeary
09:44 Jin Jeong Danie Van Tonder
09:55 Thriston Lawrences Stuart Manley
10:06 Trevor Fisher Jnr Justin Harding
10:17 Justin Walters Thomas Aiken
10:28 Lucas Bjerregaard Mark Anguiano
10:39 Andreas Harto Richard Bland
10:50 Gary Stal Nathan Holman
11:01 Jens Dantorp Mikko Ilonen
11:12 Anthony Wall Soren Kjeldsen
11:23 Robert-Jan Derksen Jack Wilson
Conclusion
Unsurprisingly, Europe's victorious Ryder Cup stars head the market for the event with World No 1 Rory McIlroy as short as 9/2 to add another glorious chapter to what has been a remarkable season.
Below him former champions Martin Kaymer and Stephen Gallacher are 14/1 and 35/1 respectively, while Victor Dubuisson is available at 20/1, but the obvious worry surrounding all four is fatigue and how much Gleneagles (and Sunday night's celebrations) took out of them.
Kaymer has already proved he is capable of handling such a short turnaround having won this title straight after the 2010 Ryder Cup, despite that memorable Monday finish at Celtic Manor.
With Gallacher lightly raced at Gleneagles in playing terms a case could definitely be made for either, while Dubuisson's stunning debut performance has only enhanced his reputation.
But with that question mark over preparation hanging over all four, we'll opt to look elsewhere and will plump first for last year's runner-up Peter Uihlein.
The American was edged out in a play-off by David Howell 12 months ago in what proved to be a week of near misses - he also saw a putt for the European's Tour first-ever 59 narrowly miss on the final green of his second round at Kingsbarns.
But having performed superbly for the majority of last season (including a maiden Tour win in Madeira and another runner-up finish in Wales), Uihlein's form fell away badly this term and he missed six consecutive cuts between April and July.
But his game has come back in recent weeks and, after a string of solid finishes, we'll back him to be inspired to put it all together on his return to Scotland.
Two more in-form players worth an interest are England's Eddie Pepperell and Scotland's Richie Ramsay.
Pepperell may still be looking for a first Tour victory, but the 23-year-old from Oxford has made impressive strides this year and would appear to be a winner in waiting.
A solid 26th on debut in the event last year is encouraging enough, but it's the fact he has four top-five finishes in his last five starts that really catches the eye - at 50/1 he looks good value to go well again.
Ramsay's record in the the tournament may not necessarily be worth writing home about, but he does have a fourth place finish back in 2009 to his credit.
A player who always relishes competing on home turf, he's been bubbling under for the past month or so without quite managing to convert a number of promising positions. But with form figures that read 4, 8, 9 and 17, it seems worth having him onside at 66/1.
Last up is a man whose links record needs no introduction, four-time major champion Ernie Els.
His compatriot Louis Oosthuizen (55/1) was also of interest given his links to St Andrews, but it is with Els we'll side given the injury concerns that seem to plague his fellow South African.
Twice an Open champion, Els is a proven links operator and has two runner-up finishes in this event - although they did come some time ago in 2001 & 2003.
The 43-year-old arrives is Scotland well-rested (or rusty depending how you want to view it!) after three weeks off, but finished the PGA Tour season off in solid style with top-10s at the USPGA Championship, The Barclays and a 16th at the BMW Championship.
This is a tournament and type of golf that Els loves, writing on his personal website: "This week it is back to the Links with the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in St. Andrews. This really is a wonderful week of golf played at the Home of Golf. Johann Rupert, who is a great friend of mine, has made this event so special for the pros and amateurs that it really is one of the highlights of the season."
At 50/1, the 44-year-old looks a generous price to enjoy himself in Scotland.
Best bets (All prices with Sky Bet)
1pt e.w. Peter Uihlein at 45/1 (1/4 1,2,3,4,5)
1pt e.w. Eddie Pepperell at 50/1 (1/4 1,2,3,4,5)
1pt e.w. Ernie Els at 50/1 (1/4 1,2,3,4,5)
1pt e.w. Richie Ramsay at 66/1 (1/4 1,2,3,4,5)
