| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Established | 2001 |
| Course(s) | St Andrews (Old Course) Carnoustie Kingsbarns |
| Par | 72 (SA) · 72 (C) · 72 (K) |
| Length | 7,279 yards (6,656 m) (SA) 7,412 yards (6,778 m) (C) 7,150 yards (6,540 m) (K) |
| Tour(s) | European Tour |
| Format | Stroke play |
| Prize fund | US$5,000,000 |
| Month played | October |
| Tournament record score | |
| Aggregate | 266 Michael Hoey (2011) |
| To par | -22 (as above) |
| Current champion | |
The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, is one of the richest golf tournaments on the European Tour. It is played in October, on three different links courses, centred around the "home of golf", St Andrews in Fife, Scotland.
The tournament is a pro-am, with teams of one professional and one amateur playing one round each at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns. Following these first three rounds there is a cut, with the leading 60 professionals continuing on to play in the final round at St Andrews. They are joined by the leading 20 teams, regardless of whether the professional member of the team made the cut individually.
Originally called the Dunhill Links Championship, the event was introduced in 2001 as a replacement for the Alfred Dunhill Cup, a three man team tournament which became marginalised when the long established World Cup of Golf was given enhanced status as part of the World Golf Championships in 2000, becoming the WGC-World Cup.
To increase interest in the event, many of the amateurs are well known personalities from the worlds of sport and entertainment. These have included Nigel Mansell, Ian Botham, Gary Lineker, Boris Becker, Michael Douglas, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Vaughan, Sir Matthew Pinsent, Hugh Grant and Shane Warne. The closest equivalent to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on the PGA Tour is the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
| Year | Winner | Score | Pro-Am Winners |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 266 (-22) | Nick Dougherty & Chris Evans | |
| 2010 | 271 (−17) | Robert Karlsson & Dermot Desmond | |
| 2009 | 268 (−20) | Søren Hansen & Kieran McManus | |
| 2008 | 278 (−10)PO | John Bickerton & Bruce Watson | |
| 2007 | 270 (−18) | Scott Strange & Robert Coe | |
| 2006 | 271 (−17) | Pádraig Harrington & J. P. McManus | |
| 2005 | 279 (−9) | Henrik Stenson & Rurik Gobel | |
| 2004 | 269 (−19)PO | Fred Couples & Craig Heatley | |
| 2003 | 267 (−21) | Sam Torrance & Daniel Torrance | |
| 2002 | 269 (−19)PO | Pádraig Harrington & J. P. McManus | |
| 2001 | 270 (−18) | Brett Rumford & Chris Peacock |
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