Alfred Dunhill Links Championship turns 25

First held in 2001, this year marks the 25th anniversary of a tournament that celebrates links golf at its finest. Held across the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie, and Kingsbarns, it is widely regarded as one of the most popular events among players – professionals and high-profile amateurs – and fans alike.

With the 2020 edition cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, 24 editions have been held. Across that time, there have been 21 different winners with two multiple winners in record three-time champion Tyrrell Hatton and two-time holder Pádraig Harrington. Hatton is the one player to have successfully defended their title, going back-to-back in 2016 and 2017.

Unique format

Unlike most events on the DP World Tour, the championship incorporates an individual  professional tournament featuring a field of 168 players along with a team championship in which each professional is paired with an amateur.

Play is over three courses in rotation over the first three days – the Old Course St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns – with the final round being played over the Old Course at The Home of Golf

After three rounds, the field is reduced to the 60 leading professionals and ties and the leading 20 teams. Amateurs receive a stroke allowance equal to two thirds of their official handicap to a maximum of 18 for men and 24 for women. The team score is the lower of the professional’s and his amateur partner’s net score at each hole.

Brett Rumford and Chris Peacock were the first pair to win the Team Championship, while Thorbjorn Olesen and Dermot Desmond were crowned champions in the 2024 contest with a record-breaking total of 48-under-par.

Bobby Mac is back

Seven days after starring for Team Europe in the Ryder Cup at Bethpage, Robert MacIntyre became the fourth winner to hail from Scotland with his victory last year.

With persistent winds resulting in Saturday’s scheduled third round being cancelled, and the tournament reduced to 54 holes, a third consecutive 66 for the Oban man resulted in a four-shot triumph over Hatton.

As a result, he became the first Scottish winner since Colin Montgomerie in 2005, with countrymen Stephen Gallacher in 2004 and Paul Lawrie in 2001 also having hoisted the trophy aloft at St Andrews.

Having won his national open a year earlier, MacIntyre has spoken of how only a Major Championship victory at St Andrews – venue for next year’s The Open – could top his career successes to date.

Speaking ahead of his title defence, he said: “I’ve always loved to come to St Andrews. I’ve been coming here with the family for years, sometimes just to walk on the beach and to be in the town.

“The whole place is golf heaven and it makes it even more fun during the Championship that so many of my family and friends are able to come to St Andrews to support me.”

Course updates

As part of a programme designed to refine the strategic challenge to the Old Course ahead of next summer’s Open Championship, renovation work has taken place over the past 12 months since November 3rd 2025.

One of the most significant areas of work has been on the 16th hole where the fairway has been widened with the placement of two new bunkers to the left of the Principal’s Nose bunker.

New bunkers have also been added at elite-level drive length at the sixth and tenth, while two of the right-side drive length fairway bunkers at the second have been moved up and to the left to make them more relevant to the line of play.

Among other changes, the most significant to the world-renowned layout since before The Open in 2015, new championship tees have been added to the sixth and seventh, increasing the yardage by 19 and 22 respectively, while enlargements have been made to existing teeing areas at the 11th and 16th.

The overall championship yardage of the course has increased by 57 yards to 7,375.