Heavy rains all week – even by Scotland standards – shortened the DP World Tour pro-am event to 54 holes.
Heavy rains in Scotland over the weekend wreaked havoc on the schedule for the DP World Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
The annual pro-am event hosted across the Old Course at St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns was shortened to 54 holes and pushed to a Monday finish after the three courses were “water-logged” and unplayable.
The weather held off on the fifth day of play, where Matt Fitzpatrick shot a 6-under 66 on Monday at the Old Course at St. Andrews to win by three shots over Matthew Southgate (66/St. Andrews), Ryan Fox (65/St. Andrews) and Marcus Armitage (66/Carnoustie) who finished T-2 at 16 under. Sebastian Soderberg was the low round of the day at Kingsbarns, where he shot a 10-under 62 to finish fifth at 15 under.
As if a ninth European circuit win wasn’t enough, the 29-year-old Englishman played alongside his mother, Susan, in the pro-am event.
Matt Fitzpatrick of England poses on the Swilcan Bridge with his Mother and playing partner, Susan Fitzpatrick during Round Three on Day Five of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the Old Course St. Andrews on Oct. 9, 2023 in St. Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)
In addition to his nine DP World Tour wins, Fitzpatrick has also won the 2023 RBC Heritage as well as the 2022 U.S. Open.
“With all my wins, aside from the major, you’ll forget about them in the future,” said Fitzpatrick, “but you’ll always remember the one you won with your mum.”
The announcement was made Sunday that, due to water-logged courses, the final round of the 2023 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship would be pushed to Monday, Oct. 9, and that the pro-am event would be reduced to 54 holes, with the top 30 teams and ties making the 36-hole cut. Matt Fitzpatrick currently leads at 13 under, with Grant Forrest and Nacho Elvira T-2 at 12 under.
Weather has been an issue all week for the unique event played annually at Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and St. Andrews, three of the best golf courses in Scotland. The tour reported that about 3.11 inches of rain had fallen since the end of play Friday.
Aside from its trio of stellar hosts, the event made headlines early last week when it was reported that Al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s lucrative Public Investment Fund (PIF), would play the pro-am under the pseudonym Andrew Waterman. Not only that, the 53-year-old is alongside LIV Golf’s Peter Uihlein (T-10) and was in the same group as R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers. Fellow LIV players Laurie Canter (T-16), Louis Oosthuizen (T-40) and Talor Gooch (72) are also in the field as non-members playing on sponsor invites.
The links layouts dominate the rankings of the best modern courses in England, Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Welcome to Golfweek’s Best 2023 rankings of the Top 50 Modern Courses in Great Britain and Ireland – built in or after 1960 – as determined by Golfweek’s Best Raters.
The members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them based on our 10 criteria. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings on each course are averaged to produce a final rating for each course. Then each course is ranked against other courses in Great Britain and Ireland to produce the final rankings.
After three days of rotating between three world-class venues – the Old Course, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, the 63 players who made the 54-hole cut at the Alfred Dunhill Links on the DP World Tour will play their final round at St. Andrews.
Richard Mansell leads by four at 15 under after posting a 5-under 67 at Carnoustie on Saturday. After making the turn with a 1-under 35, Mansell made four birdies and no bogeys coming home to separate himself from the field.
The 218th-ranked golfer in the world has missed two straight cuts but finished third at the Omega European Masters in August. If he does go on to win Sunday, it’d be his maiden victory on the European circuit.
Daniel Gavins, Alex Noren and Ryan Fox are tied for second at 11 under, while big names such as Rory McIlroy, Billy Horschel and Robert MacIntyre are T-11 at 7 under.
Catch the final round action on Golf Channel from 6:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET.
It was a hell of a day for it but, with the kind of gritty resolve usually reserved for the likes of the Ancient Mariner, we completed round two of a sodden, wind-ravaged Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Within minutes of play finishing, the sun came out. Bloomin’ typical eh?
“It got to a point where it wasn’t even golf,” gasped Robert MacIntyre after a wild buffeting at Kingsbarns that was broadly equivalent to being perched in the crow’s nest of a galleon during a tempest. He may have been drookit and dishevelled but the dogged MacIntyre had emerged unscathed.
While Englishman Richard Mansell clambered to the top of the leaderboard on 10-under after a tenacious 4-under 68 over the Old Course, MacIntyre’s battling 2-under 70 a few miles down the East Neuk hoisted the Scot up 35 places into a share of fifth on 6-under.
Padraig Harrington of Ireland looks on from the 15th tee holding an umbrella in the rain during the second round of the 2022 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at Kingsbarns Golf Links in Kingsbarns, Scotland. (Photo: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
During a rancid day, it became so wet, even the laptops of the golf writers just about had moss growing between the keys. Toss in the violent gusts and it was all about clinging on grimly and limiting the damage.
Some fared better than others. Romain Langasque, who led overnight after a record-equaling 61 over the Old Course, came a cropper at formidable Carnoustie with an 80. And spare a thought for poor old Alexander Knappe, whose first four holes in a shotgun start from the 14th of the Old Course produced a five, a six, a nine and an eight. The German eventually signed for a torrid 88.
Even Shane Lowry, the recently crowned BMW PGA champion, found the going tough and toiled to a 79 at Kingsbarns to languish down on 5 over. Other star attractions like Matt Fitzpatrick and Rory McIlroy sit on 2 under and 1 under respectively.
As for MacIntyre? Well, the in-form Oban man harnessed the appalling conditions to fine effect and bolstered his push for a second victory in three events. The 26-year-old, fresh from his fine success in the Italian Open recently, offset three bogeys with a haul of five, hard-earned birdies to lurk four off the halfway pace with two circuits of the Old Course to come.
Despite the rotten weather, MacIntyre relished the challenge.
Robert MacIntyre of Scotland looks on after playing a shot during the second round of the 2022 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at Kingsbarns Golf Links in Kingsbarns, Scotland. (Photo: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
“I’m soaked through, I’ve got water in my shoes but I just had to laugh all the way,” said MacIntyre, who got through three towels and 12 gloves. “It’s the way I play my best golf, with a smile on my face. But it was brutal. It’s probably the hardest conditions I’ve ever played in.”
It was a day for throwing away the yardage book, knuckling down and relying on those old golfing instincts.
“I didn’t look at the book once and it was just a case of moving it forward and being able to see it,” added MacIntyre, whose best finish in the Dunhill Links remains a share of 26th in 2019. “The 12th was playing like a par 6. I hit it out of position so chipped it with an 8-iron about 120 yards. Then I chipped a 5-iron about 140 yards and then hit a 9-iron into the green. I just played it like a par-6. It was just about keeping the ball in play, keeping it out the sky and certain winds and just dealing with what you’ve got. I just want to have a chance on the back nine on Sunday. That’s what determines if it is a good week or a mediocre week; having a chance. Top-10s are alright, but back-door top-10s aren’t what we want. We want to be fighting for wins.”
Mansell, who is seeking his maiden win on the DP World Tour, winkled out five birdies and spilled just one shot in a defiant 4-under round which left the 27-year-old two shots clear of Sweden’s former Scottish Open champion, Alex Noren.
“I can’t feel anything in my body right now,” chittered Mansell as he emerged for a post-round analysis. “It was just gritty and about personality; just trying to stay positive and focused.”
Noren, a 10-time champion on the DP World Tour, added a 69 for his 8-under tally while Denmark’s Niklas Norgaard Moller and Antoine Rozner share third on 7 under.
“I’ve played in wind and rain many times but nothing like this,” said Norgaard Moller after a 74 on the Old Course. “On 12, I was hitting a full driver and it flew 170 metres right into the wind. What can you do but laugh?”
Playing golf in this weather doesn’t look like a good time.
The Alfred Dunhill Links is one of the best events on the DP World Tour schedule. Players rotate between three courses for the first three days — the Old Course, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns — before the final round is played at St. Andrews.
Thursday’s conditions were built for low scores as the first-round leader was 11 under after 18 holes.
Friday, however, was a completely different story.
Weather was brutal on day two, as rain, wind and cold temperatures made for miserable conditions.
Billy Horschel and Matt Fitzpatrick, somehow, shot 1 under, while Richard Mansell leads by two thanks to a heroic 4-under Friday.
To be honest, playing golf didn’t even look enjoyable, regardless of the courses the field was playing.
It’s time for one of the most fun events on the DP World Tour.
Several stars of the game of golf have made their return to the Old Course after July’s Open Championship for the Alfred Dunhill Links, although The Home of Golf isn’t the only course hosting play this week.
Carnoustie and Kingsbarns will also be featured and so will family members of the DP World Tour players.
Rory McIlroy will tee it up alongside his father, Gerry, while Matt Fitzpatrick will play with his mom, Susan.
We know that most golf fans will spend the next week and more dreaming of hitting the Scottish links, so we here at Golfweek are doing everything within our power to make that dream a bit more real.
Last week we gave you some of the best U.K. golf vacations out there, but this week our focus narrows to Scotland and the 10 best courses that the home of golf has to offer.
These rankings come directly from the hundreds of Golfweek’s Best Raters for 2021 who continually evaluated courses and rated them based on our 10 criteria. They also filed a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings on each course are averaged to produce a final rating for each course.
For more of Golfweek’s Best course lists, check out the most recent selection of course rankings:
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Want to play St. Andrews, Carnoustie, and Royal Troon all on the same trip? Yeah…we thought so.
The 2022 British Open is just weeks away and the entire golf world is gearing up to go back home to The Old Course at St. Andrews.
We will all be glued to the coverage of the 150th Open Championship later this month, and most golf fans will daydream about playing St. Andrews and that fantasy golf vacation they’ve been putting off for years.
It’s time to turn those daydreams into reality. Along with our friends from Golfbreaks, Golfweek has compiled five spectacular U.K. golf vacations including trips to England, Northern Ireland and Scotland to play some of the oldest and most famous courses in the world.
We occasionally recommend interesting products, services, and gaming opportunities. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. Golfweek operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage
The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is always one of the most fun events on the European Tour schedule. Players and their partners rotate among three of the best golf courses in the world through the first three days of the event. The Old Course at St. Andrews, Carnoustie, and Kingsbarns are some of Scotland’s finest, with all hosting a round before the final day returns to the home of golf.
Danny Willett, leader after 54 holes, played St. Andrews Saturday without making a bogey, carding a 6-under 66. Through three rounds, Willett has only signed for two scores above par, which have been offset by a pair of eagles.
The 2016 Masters champ was feeling himself out on the links Saturday in some pretty miserable weather.
Tyyrell Hatton, who won this event in back-to-back years in 2016-17, enters the final round three shots behind Willett after a 1 under round at St. Andrews today. Luckily for him, the Old Course will be the host for the final round, so a few early birdies could put him right back in the mix. Hatton is playing with his dad, Jeff, this week.
Shane Lowry was an electrical spark for the European Ryder Cup team last week at Whistling Straits, and some of that energy has carried over this week in Scotland. The Irishman sits three shots back, and is tied with Hatton at 11 under. He, too, played the Old Course on Saturday, and paired six birdies with one bogey for a 5-under 67.
When playing golf in Scotland, you have to expect the worst when it comes to the weather. Billy Horschel has fully embraced that this week.
