Alfred Dunhill Links Championship becomes a family affair
Published:After winning the Ryder Cup last Monday, several of the European team will take to the Scottish fairways this week with a family member in tow when the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship gets under way on Thursday.
The tournament pairs a professional with an amateur for the whole four days of the competition, where the professional will compete on their own as well as part of a pro-am pairing.
And after their exploits in the Ryder Cup, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy have brought their fathers along as they challenge for a $5m prize.
With US Open and Wales Open tournament wins, together with a victory in the final singles pairing to win Europe the Ryder Cup, McDowell is the inform player after McIlroy’s stuttering week at the Celtic Manor.
But the betting market suggests otherwise with McIlroy priced at 12/1 to win this week and McDowell 25/1 to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Lee Westwood is 10/1 favourite in a field that includes nine Ryder Cup players, three Ryder Cup vice captains.
Two of those Ryder Cup players in McDowell and Martin Kaymer, 16/1 to win this weekend, also happen to have won two of this year’s major championships.
The Alfred Dunhill Links has been ridiculed in the past because of its pro-am format but the offer of $5m in prize money at the end of the week has seen it become a major tournament on the European Tour.
Winning Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie is bringing his brother along for the ride whilst Ernie Els is also bringing along his father.
Monty is 200/1 to win this week but Els finished strongly in the FedEx Cup a couple of weeks ago and is 20/1 to win.
Fellow South African Retief Goosen is 16/1 to win after his third place finish in the Tour Championship.
Ladbrokes are offering Ryder Cup specials markets before the tournament starts. See the full Alfred Dunhill Links Championship betting odds market here.
