2024 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

2024 Alfred Dunhill Links prize money payouts for every player at St. Andrews

For his efforts, Hatton will bank $800,000 out of the $5 million purse.

Tyrrell Hatton may have finally found a course he likes.

He won the 2024 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Sunday, becoming the first player to win the event three times. A day after tying the course record at St. Andrews, he birdied the final hole to top Nicolas Colsaerts by a shot and win the title.

For his efforts, Hatton will bank $800,000 out of the $5 million purse. Colsaerts, though he missed a birdie putt on the last hole, still earned $533,330 for his efforts.

Here’s a look at the prize money payouts for every golfer at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Alfred Dunhill Links prize money payouts

Pos.	Player	Score	Earnings
1	Tyrrell Hatton	-24	$800,000
2	Nicolas Colsaerts	-23	$533,330
3	Tommy Fleetwood	-21	$300,480
T4	Rasmus Neergaard-Peterson	-19	$203,840
T4	David Puig	-19	$203,840
T4	Robin Williams	-19	$203,840
T7	Tom Valliant	-18	$123,840
T7	Haotong Li	-18	$123,840
T7	Jon Rahm	-18	$123,840
T10	Matthew Jordan	-17	$92,160
T10	Brooks Koepka	-17	$92,160
T12	Kazuma Kobori	-16	$71,178
T12	Darren Fichardt	-16	$71,178
T12	Niklas Norgaard	-16	$71,178
T12	Thornjorn Oleson	-16	$71,178
T12	Shane Lowry	-16	$71,178
T12	Alex Noren	-16	$71,178
T12	Dean Burmester	-16	$71,178
T19	Peter Uihlein	-15	$55,200
T19	Adrien Saddier	-15	$55,200
T19	David Mucheluzzi	-15	$55,200
T19	Jorge Campillo	-15	$55,200
T19	Yannik Paul	-15	$55,200
T19	Louis Albertse	-15	$55,200
T25	Maximilian Rottluff	-14	$39,744
T25	James Ashfield	-14	$39,744
T25	Jens Dantorp	-14	$39,744
T25	Daniel Hillier	-14	$39,744
T25	Callum Shinkwin	-14	$39,744
T25	Robert MacIntyre	-14	$39,744
T25	Rory McIlroy	-14	$39,744
T25	Padraig Harrington	-14	$39,744
T25	Andrew Putnam	-14	$39,744
T25	Scott Jamieson	-14	$39,744
T35	Jordan Smith	-13	$28,975
T35	Todd Clements	-13	$28,975
T35	Branden Grace	-13	$28,975
T35	Joost Luiten	-13	$28,975
T35	Matthew Baldwin	-13	$28,975
T35	Grant Forrest	-13	$28,975
T35	Patrick Reed	-13	$28,975
T35	Connor Syme	-13	$28,975
T43	Matthew Southgate	-12	$23,520
T43	John Parry	-12	$23,520
T43	Fabrizio Zanotti	-12	$23,520
T43	Tom McKibbin	-12	$23,520
T43	Wilco Nienaber	-12	$23,520
T43	Matt Wallace	-12	$23,520
T43	Richard Mansell	-12	$23,520
T43	Sam Jones	-12	$23,520
T43	Francesco LaPorta	-12	$23,520
T43	Marcus Armitage	-12	$23,520
T43	Matthis Besard	-12	$23,520
T54	Yurav Premlall	-11	$15,235
T54	Robert Rock	-11	$15,235
T54	Thriston Lawrence	-11	$15,235
T54	Daniel Brown	-11	$15,235
T54	John Cameron	-11	$15,235
T54	Lorenzo Scalise	-11	$15,235
T54	Jesper Svensson	-11	$15,235
61	Justin Harding	-10	$14,000
62	Matthieu Pavon	-9	$13,500
63	Shubhankar Sharma	-8	$13,000
T64	Sebastian Soderberg	-7	$12,250
T64	Alex Fitzpatrick	-7	$12,250
T64	Sung Kang	-7	$12,250
T64	David Law	-7	$12,250
T68	James Nicholas	-6	$10,250
T68	Kiradech Aphibardrat	-6	$10,250
T68	Adrian Otaegui	-6	$10,250
T68	Sean Crocker	-6	$10,250

Tyrrell Hatton outduels Nicolas Colsaerts, becomes first player to win Alfred Dunhill Links thrice

Tyrrell Hatton can smile on a golf course.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — If there’s any room left on the plinth of the Old Tom Morris statue, they may have to plonk a bronze bust of Tyrrell Hatton onto it at this rate.

Victory in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship over the Old Course on Sunday was the Englishman’s third success in the Pro-Am contest. In the home of the game, Hatton once again prospered in his golfing home from home.

It all came down to a shoot-out on the 18th as Hatton and the gallant Belgian, Nicolas Colsaerts, marched up the final hole in a tie at the top. Things were so tight, you half expected them to reach for their dueling pistols as they clumped over Grannie Clark’s Wynd.

Hatton made his statement of intent when he dunted a neatly executed chip to within three feet. Over to you Nicolas.

Colsaerts opted for the putter from around 25 yards but, having struggled with the long ones for much of the day, his eagle attempt came up about 10-feet short.

The former Ryder Cup player, who trundled in a brave putt from a similar distance on the 17th to keep himself in a share of the lead, couldn’t make this one for his birdie, though.

Hatton stepped in to gobble up his own birdie from short range to post a 2-under 70 for a 24-under aggregate and a narrow, one-shot victory.

As well as the silverware and a check for $800,000, Hatton’s win also secures the LIV Golf player a spot in the DP World’s season-ending bonanza in Dubai in November. The fact his dad, Jeff, was by his side as part of the Pro-Am team affair added an extra dollop of icing to the cake.

“This is the first time I’ve actually won the tournament with my dad here so it means a lot,” said Hatton as he referenced those earlier wins in 2016 and 2017 that were father free.

“It was a relief to get over the line. The last seven holes were pretty stressful.”

Hatton certainly didn’t do those stress levels any favors when he double-bogeyed the 13th and leaked another on the 14th. “I probably shouldn’t repeat what I said to myself then,” he added with a grin.

Up until that shoogle, Hatton had been making purposeful strides and was three clear after birdies at 10 and 11. Colsearts, meanwhile, had failed to capitalize on decent birdie chances around the turn but Hatton’s mishaps gave him renewed hope.

Spain’s LIV rebel, David Puig, had threatened to gatecrash affairs as he covered his first 10 holes in 8 under to get within striking distance but he slithered away on the run-in.

When Colsaerts birdied the 15th, it was level-pegging but Hatton stood firm and delivered the telling blow on the last as he got his nose over the line in this two-horse race.

It was a sore one for the valiant Colsaerts, who doesn’t have a full category for the tour and was playing on an invitation. “It’s bittersweet,” he said. “If you’d told me earlier in the week that I would finish second, then I would’ve taken it. I’m proud of what I’ve done.”

Having celebrated his dad’s 65th birthday on Saturday night, Rory McIlroy needed a bit more than a session on the range to get in the swing again on the closing Sunday

“A cold shower and a couple of double espressos got me going,” he said with a weary smile after a closing 4-under 68 left World No. 3 with a 14-under tally.

McIlroy has certainly enjoyed the last few weeks back on this side of the pond. The Irish Open and the BMW PGA Championship were terrific, late-season showpieces while a whirl around the Old Course, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie over the last four days is always an experience to savor.

“I’ve absolutely loved them,” said McIlroy, who still leads the Race to Dubai and is eager to top the rankings for a sixth time.

“I appreciate these events more as I get older. The one thing that I love when I come back here is the tournaments just feel a little more authentic and purer and not as corporate.

“Compared to the three FedEx Cup Playoff events (on the PGA Tour), the crowds at the Irish Open and Wentworth, even here as well, were bigger and the atmosphere was better.”

The DP World Tour marketing lot would be cock-a-hoop hearing that. Not so chipper, however, was Robert MacIntyre after joining McIlroy, and his compatriot, Scott Jamieson, on 14 under.

His closing 70 included another damaging exchange with his old foe, the 17th. His double-bogey there on Saturday was followed by a bogey on it in the final round.

Forget the Road Hole. MacIntyre would be happy if was the end of the road for one of golf’s most iconic par-fours.

“Blow it up,” he grumbled. “I don’t think there are many worse holes in world golf. It needs to be a hole you are able to hit a golf shot into and not one where you just hit it onto the green and try to get up and down.”

Can Tyrrell Hatton win the Alfred Dunhill Links thrice? He swears he’s trying

This was Hatton’s lowest-ever round on the DP World Tour.

Catch me if you can. Tyrrell Hatton unleashed such a sustained bombardment on the Old Course during round three of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, the newly unveiled statue of Auld Tom Morris situated nearby was probably left nursing a shrapnel wound.

On a delightful autumn day in the cradle of the game, Hatton, a two-time winner of this title, barged his way to the top of the leaderboard with a thrilling, course-record equaling 11-under 61. That gave him a mighty 22-under aggregate and a one-shot lead over Nicolas Colsaerts.

At his happy hunting ground, Hatton prospered once again. In the pleasantly benign conditions, which left the Old Course as vulnerable to an ambush as a newly born gazelle that’s surrounded by a lurking pack of hyenas, Hatton went on the attack.

As well as an eagle on the fifth, the 32-year-old birdied six of his last seven holes during a rousing rampage that would certainly have been worth the entry fee. If there was one, of course. The Dunhill Links is free for the first three days.

Dunhill Links: Leaderboard

This was Hatton’s lowest-ever round on tour and beat the 62 he conjured en route to winning the first of those two Dunhill Links titles in 2016.

“I felt like I was trying harder than I normally would for that birdie putt on the last,” he said of a 10-footer for a three which saw him finish with a flourish.

“I think I struggled when I played in the St. Andrews Links Trophy as an amateur and I didn’t do too well on my first two appearances at the Dunhill either. But since winning in 2016, it’s been pretty good to me. It’s a special place to play golf.”

"Sensational!"@TyrrellHatton goes right at the flag at the Road Hole. #dunhilllinks pic.twitter.com/wK4hGpPQ1a

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 5, 2024

Colsaerts served up something special too down the road at Kingsbarns. The 41-year-old former Ryder Cup player, who is down in 695th place on the world rankings, put on a show with a seven-under 65 which included an albatross two on the par-five 16th, his seventh.

At one point, Colsaerts, who only received an invitation to the event six days ago, was five shots clear of the rest but a double-bogey on his ninth, combined with Hatton’s menacing advance back at St. Andrews, saw that advantage obliterated.

It was still another fine shift at the office, though, for a man who is chasing a first tour win since he landed the French Open in 2019.

“Super special,” he said of that two which was executed with a 6-iron. “Listen, I would have been quite happy with a tap-in three but that was the cherry on the cake.”

Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, meanwhile, made playing Kingsbarns look like a piece of cake. Well, eventually.

The Dane began with a bogey on the first but then charged off like a horse that had bolted and fired 12 birdies in an 11-under 61 that propelled him into contention on 17-under.

“It was a funny way to start but then my putter got really hot,” said Neergaard-Petersen, who earned a swift promotion to the DP World Tour by winning three times on the Challenge Tour this season.

As for the home contingent? Well, it’s Robert MacIntyre who is flying the flag on the fringes of the top 20 after a 65 at the Old Course lifted him to 12-under.

David Law, who was just one shot off the lead at halfway, slithered back to 10-under with a 75 at Carnoustie.

A double-bogey on the 17th for MacIntyre was a bit of a scunner but a closing birdie made supper taste better.

The 28-year-old then spent ages signing autographs and taking selfies with his adoring public. In fact, the meet and greet was almost as long as a bloomin’ Dunhill round.

“I used to be one of them (autograph hunter) when I went to the Scottish Opens,” he said of his admirable attention to duty.

“At times, you don’t want to do any of it. But as long as the kids get looked after, then that’s the most important thing.

“You never know. There could be someone in the crowd who is hopefully going to take over from other Scottish guys on tour.”

There was another issue for MacIntyre to address; the cursings and cussings that can be par for the course in this infuriating pursuit.

There have been growing grumbles in some quarters about the Scot’s occasional, colorful outbursts, which are now amplified as his profile grows and he earns more exposure on TV.

On Friday, he was grouped with Hatton, a self-confessed compulsive swearer, in a pairing that produced the kind of bonfire of the profanities you’d get at a reunion of squaddies.

“Look, it’s live sport, it’s heat of the battle,” said MacIntyre of his various effings and jeffings. “I’m trying my best to improve it. The other side of it is that I’m Scottish. It’s part of our vocab.

“I’m trying my hardest to perform as best as I can. I double-bogeyed 18 on Friday, so I’m going to be angry. And what am I going to do when I’m angry? I’m probably going to swear to myself. It’s not to anybody else. It’s to myself.

“I double-bogeyed 17 today. I’m going to swear to myself and call myself things. I’m not meaning to offend anyone. But every now and again it’s going to come out.”

And on that note, it was time for MacIntyre to eff, sorry, head off.

Jumbo bird! Nicolas Colsaerts makes an albatross at Kingsbarns during third round of 2024 Alfred Dunhill Links

The rarest of them all.

The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on the DP World Tour is always one of the best events of the year. Not only is the field loaded, but the world’s best players walk the grounds of The Old Course at St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns alongside family and friends. For example, this week, Rory McIlroy is playing with his dad, Gerry.

Nicolas Colsaerts is going to remember this tournament for a different reason.

During the third round on Saturday, Colsaerts’ second shot into the par-5 16th at Kingsbarns hit the front part of the green before rolling all the way up the backstop behind the pin. His ball lost momentum going up the hill and eventually started making its way back down the hill.

Then the ball found the bottom of the hole.

Albatross! Jumbo bird!

Dunhill Links: Leaderboard

🚨 ALBATROSS 🚨@NicoColsaerts makes an albatross at the 16th at Kingsbarns! #dunhilllinks pic.twitter.com/augYNri4kF

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 5, 2024

Thanks to a third straight 7-under 65, Colsaerts is alone in second at 21 under, one shot behind leader Tyrrell Hatton.

Watch: A dog snatched a live golf ball off the green from this sports star at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

When Bale pitched from a bank, one of the dogs got loose and quickly took chase.

The DP World Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship plays up the fact that dogs are welcome on the property. During the week, the golf courses get visits from a variety of everyone’s four-legged friends. All dogs must remain on a leash but they can tag along any day of the week.

Some of the big names in the field this week included Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton and Billy Horschel.

But in the amateur portion of the event, there are few names bigger for English fans than Gareth Bale, a Welsh soccer star who has long had a passion for golf.

Dunhill Links: Leaderboard

When Bale pitched from a bank, slowly rolling the ball to about 10 feet, one of the dogs got loose and quickly took chase, eventually grabbing the ball in his mouth.

Gareth Bale's golf ball was stolen on the green by a DOG during the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship 🤣🐕 pic.twitter.com/XFwYFwfHwz

— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) October 5, 2024

Bale and his partner Daniel Brown are currently on the edge of the top 10 in the team portion of the event, and Bale was able to put place the ball back at the spot on which it stopped.

Photos: Check out the dogs at the 2024 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

Three of the most iconic venues in golf become three of the cutest.

Three of the most iconic venues in golf are also three of the cutest.

The DP World Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is played over three historic golf courses – The Old Course at St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns – over the first three days. Then for the final round everyone hits the Old Course a second time.

Some of the big names in the field include Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton and Billy Horschel.

During the week, the golf courses get visits from a variety of everyone’s four-legged friends. All dogs must remain on a leash but they can tag along any day of the week.

The tournament released a video called “The Dogs of Dunhill” as well.

Photos of dogs at the Alfred Dunhill event

With big names down the leaderboard, Scotsman David Law, chasing status for 2025, sits a shot back Alfred Dunhill Links

It’s been a season of toil and trouble on the course for Law.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Until the golf writers put the finishing touches to our groundbreaking teleportation pod – we’ve lost the Allen Key and can’t tighten the screws – the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship will always remain something of a guddle.

You can’t, after all, be in two places at one time, let alone three. So, you decide to base yourself at the Old Course in St. Andrews but then something starts brewing at Kingsbarns and you opt to tootle off there before news filters through of a dazzling development at Carnoustie.

By that point, of course, you’re halfway between St. Andrews and Kingsbarns with no chance of getting to Carnoustie and you end up birling about in a flustered fankle like the Keystone Cops on a dodgem ride. How’s that teleportation pod doing again, lads?

Alex Fitzpatrick putts on the third green during day two of the 2024 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at Kingsbarns Golf Links. (Luke Walker/Getty Images)

In this here, there and everywhere palaver, at least Scotsman David Law is exactly where he wants to be heading into the weekend’s action.

A tidy five-under 67 for a 13-under aggregate left the Aberdonian in a share of third, just a shot off the lead held by Australia’s Cameron John and Belgium’s former Ryder Cup player, Nicolas Colsaerts.

It’s been a season of toil and trouble on the course for Law. In this game of fine margins, though, the small things can make a big difference.

For a casual observer, a share of 29th in last week’s Spanish Open may not have been a cause to hang out the bunting.

For Law, however, that morale-boosting result has given him the kind of shot in the arm that used to come in a blue envelope from the NHS.

He needs an injection of something, of course. At 141st on the DP World Tour rankings, and with events running out, Law is desperate to pull a big finish out of the bag soon to vault into the safety zone of the top 115.

On home turf this week, it’s a case of so far, so good.

“Tied 29th (in Spain) may not sound like a great week but the way things had been going, it was,” said Law, who has made just nine cuts in 24 events this season.

“It’s an amazing game. Something like that can just kick start you. Flying back from Spain, there was a feeling of optimism and momentum. And that’s something I’ve not felt this year at all.

“When you’re not playing well, you try to do everything perfectly. I’d been travelling a little bit earlier to events and playing more holes in practice.

“But it wasn’t working. So, last week, I pitched up on the Tuesday, played nine holes and that was me. I’ve done the same this week.”

After his 64 at Kingsbarns on Thursday, Law fortified his position in the upper echelons with a bogey-free effort around the Old Course. Starting on the 10th, the 33-year-old reeled off three birdies in a row to get himself up and running.

Hopefully, it’s onwards and upwards.

“I’m not enjoying being where I am at all,” he said of his perilous position on the rankings. “But as much as I’d love to be 115 just now, at least I’m not looking over my shoulder. I’m looking up and that has to be the mindset. Be positive.

“First and foremost, I’m looking to secure my job for next year. The easiest way to do that is win this tournament. Failing that, it’s about finishing as high up as possible. I’m in a great place just now.”

Co-leaders set the pace

Colsaerts and John are both in a pretty good place too. The leading duo’s combined world ranking may be a lowly 1,702 but they’re the No. 1s here in the cradle of the game after 36 holes.

Colsaerts began his second round at Carnoustie with a bogey on the third but roared back with a bag of eight birdies as he posted a best-of-the-day 65 – his second 65 in a row – to surge to the summit.

In his own words, Colsaerts suggested that the early bogey left him “agitated.” He took his frustrations out on the treasured Angus links with a pounding that just about left it nursing a bruise.

“I’m just happy to be here,” said the 41-year-old, who is moving towards more television commentary than competing these days.

John, a winner on the east coast back in 2016 when he landed the Scottish Amateur Open Strokeplay title at Gullane, repaired the damage caused by a double-bogey on the fifth hole of the Old Course with a haul of six-birdies in a four-under 68.

John earned his first pro win in his native Australia this year but this outing in Scotland is just his seventh start on the DP World Tour.

“If you’d told me before that I’d be leading, I’d have said you were being a bit far-fetched,” he said with a smile.

Fife’s Connor Syme, who made his debut in the Dunhill Links 10 years ago as an amateur, kept ticking along nicely with a 67 for 10-under but Glasgow’s Scott Jamieson came a cropper at the Road Hole and leaked three shots in a 72 for nine-under.

Rory McIlroy is back on six-under after a 69 at Kingsbarns which included a mighty drive on the 14th which rolled onto the green as Robert MacIntyre was putting.

The Scot was nae happy. A double-bogey on the 18th, in a 72 for 5 under, didn’t do much to lighten the mood.

Jon Rahm saved par from a nasty lie in the rocks at 2024 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

Rahm found himself in a difficult spot on the 12th hole at the Old Course.

Jon Rahm found himself in a difficult spot on the 12th hole at the Old Course on Friday.

But after picking away some seaweed near his ball and then hacking away at it, he managed to make an all-world par save during the second round of the 2024 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Rahm had four bogeys elsewhere on the course but also had three birdies and an eagle for a second-round 71 to sit T-29 at 8 under.

He’ll head to the weekend six shots back of Nicolas Colsaerts and Cameron John.

The DP World Tour stop is contested over three historic courses – Carnousie and Kingsbarn Links are also in the mix – and everyone gets a shot at the Old Course at least once over the first three days.

Dunhill Links effect provides hope in quest for golfing peace between PGA Tour, LIV Golf

Jon Rahm: “I won’t let myself believe anything until it is actually true. I hope so.”

Whatever you wanted to do at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, it was a lovely day to do it.

You may, for instance, have fancied seeing what all the fuss was about by following the PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan, and the Saudi Public Investment Fund governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, as they were plonked in the same group of the Pro-Am affair at Carnoustie.

Then again, most casual observers peering on would probably have had no idea who these two gentlemen were, despite us mouth-frothing golf writers eagerly billing their appearance together as something akin to 007 playing with Auric bloomin’ Goldfinger.

In the on-going quest for peace in our golfing time, though, the cordial clatter and batter about the links has been viewed as another step in the right direction for a men’s professional game that remains so fractured, it just about needs a cast and splint.

While South Africa’s veteran campaigner Darren Fichardt set a scintillating pace at Kingsbarns with an 11-under 61, another South African, the Dunhill Links supremo Johann Rupert, was just as enthused by the genial scene involving two of global golf’s most powerful figures.

“I have known Jay (Monahan) for a very long time, and I have got to know his Excellency (Al-Rumayyan) as well and they both only have the best interests of golf at heart,” suggested Rupert. “We need to keep on having days like today. Golf is supposed to be a maker of friends.

“We have a war going on in Ukraine and a terrible situation in the Middle East and another war going on in Sudan and we argue about golf? Surely all we want to do is see the best players in the world playing together.”

In the grand scheme of life and all that. It’s not a bad old life, meanwhile, when you’re playing three of Scotland’s best links courses in beautiful autumnal weather.

Fichardt certainly enjoyed it. The 49-year-old posted his lowest competitive round since 2001 as he took advantage of the inviting, benign conditions and delivered a lively card which featured nine birdies and two eagles.

“That was sweet,” he said with a beam as a bright as a halogen headlamp after finishing a stroke ahead of Australia’s John Cameron.

“I had a really poor three-putt on my second hole and I was like ‘oh, my goodness, it’s going to be a grind today’. But then I made something like a 100-foot putt for eagle on the next hole and the train just kept on going.”

Scotsman David Law is well aware that he needs to get going too. While his compatriot, Scott Jamieson, opened with a fine nine-under 63 at Kingsbarns, Law finished just a shot behind him after a 64 over the same course.

At a lowly 141st on the Race to Dubai rankings, Law is running out of time in his battle keep his DP World Tour card.

With its whopping prize fund, though, the Dunhill Links has been the saviour of many a struggling Scot down the seasons and Law, a winner on the tour back in 2019, is hoping he too can give himself a timely tonic on home turf.

“I’m aware of the situation that I’m in,” said Law of his perilous position. “I need a big week, and this one is a fantastic opportunity. I know the golf I need to play, and this score was very pleasing.”

Jamieson, who had missed five of his last six cuts, revelled in a return to his native land and conjured an eagle and seven birdies in a neatly assembled round.

“What’s not to love?,” smiled the 40-year-old. “You’ve got Scotland, the sun is out, no wind. It’s pretty much the perfect day, isn’t it?”

Robert MacIntyre, who is partnering his dad, Dougie, in the pro-am team contest, opened with a five-under 67 at Carnoustie and was joined on that mark by Fifer, Connor Syme.

Most of the star attractions were over at Carnoustie with Rory McIlroy, who is teaming up with his old man Gerry, posting a three-under 69. “Definitely room for improvement there for both of the McIlroys,” he said with a wry grin.

Jon Rahm, the most high-profile defector to the LIV Golf series that is bankrolled by the aformentioned Al-Rumayyan, got up and running with a seven-under 65.

As for those on-going peace talks? “I feel like we’ve all gone down that road before and been mistaken,” said a cautious Rahm. “I won’t let myself believe anything until it is actually true. I hope so.”

We all live in hope, eh?

As both sides of golf’s civil war meet at Alfred Dunhill Links, Matt Fitzpatrick is ‘past the point of caring’ about reunion

“You’re wasting your time.”

As golf’s civil war continues to drag on, fans across the sport are becoming less interested. Television broadcasts see declined viewership numbers on what seems like a weekly basis, and the continued talk of bringing the game back together is only creating a deeper sense of frustration.

Matt Fitzpatrick sees it in a similar light.

The Englishman returned to the Old Course at St. Andrews this week to defend his title at the 2024 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, which has quickly turned into the rendezvous point for both sides of the game.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, LIV Golf’s Yasir Al-Rumayyan and DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings are all on site in Scotland – Monahan and Al-Rumayyan played together at Carnoustie on Thursday – as are players from the various leagues including Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry.

When asked if there’s a “feeling that this week (is) a little bit of coming together for golf,” Fitzpatrick didn’t beat around the bush.

“I think in terms of bringing the game together this week, I’m passed the point of caring,” Fitzpatrick said Wednesday. “I just don’t care. Me saying things to the PGA Tour board, me saying things to the DP World Tour board, it’s not going to change, so why am I going to waste my time talking about it?”

As for the bad blood between the two sides, the world No. 29 doesn’t see it dissolving quite yet.

“Not necessarily. I think there’s probably some players in the States, their feelings, I don’t think they would be very happy. If I’m probably brutally honest, at the start, I probably was pretty against, and it was not of any interest to me to go and play LIV. But I’ve always said that I understood why people went. I’ve got no issues with that. No issues at all.

“My issue was always, at the start, anyway, is you’ve gone over there. Like I don’t feel like it’s fair for you to try and come back and play, as well. But I would say I’ve changed on that now. Again, I just don’t care. I just want to focus on myself. I think that’s what’s important, and try and play the best golf I can, and that’s, I don’t want to get 10 years down the road, obviously, and look back and I’m not going to sit there and think, ‘Oh, I wish I’d got more involved in that LIV and PGA Tour.’

“It’s like, you’re wasting your time.”

On the golf course Thursday, Fitzpatrick shot a 4-under 68 and is tied for 49th. He’ll head to Kingsbarns on Friday before enjoying the Old Course on Saturday.