Alfred Dunhill Links Championship preview: Fleetwood to star in wake of Ryder Cup victory

With an incredible Ryder Cup victory still fresh in the memory, some of Team Europe’s finest will be teeing it up at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship this week.

Some are taking a well-deserved rest, but for the few in contention here, there is a real chance to keep the hot streak going, as well as an opportunity for those who rested up over the past week to capitalise on some potentially sore heads.

We take a look at two players to watch below.

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Tommy Fleetwood 15/2

After a memorable victory and individual performance at this year’s Ryder Cup, which saw Fleetwood secure the winning point for Team Europe, he will have to shake of the aftereffects of late-night celebrations to justify his position as the 15/2 favourite for the Alfred Dunhill this year.

Fleetwood is in a rich vein of form at the moment, emphasised by securing three of the four points available to him at Marco Simone last weekend. He was also impressing before that with five top 10 finishes in his last six starts, including three sixth placed finishes, as well as a third.

Not only is he in good form, but Fleetwood also loves Links golf. This year he finished T6 at the Scottish Open, followed by a T10 finish at an extremely testing Open Championship. His best finish at the Alfred Dunhill came back in 2019 when he finished T2, one shot behind the winner Lucas Bjerregaard.

There are no clear weaknesses to Fleetwood’s game, despite that he has failed to win on the PGA Tour and hasn’t picked up a European Tour title in over three years, dating back to his Scottish Open victory in 2020 which was played at the Renaissance Club – another Links course.

He is a strong all-round player, ranking eighth in the world from tee-to-green, adding a putting game which ranks 15th in the world to complete a solid all-round game. His approach accuracy and scrambling abilities make him an obvious choice around Links courses, and we are siding with him to win this year’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Ross Fisher 200/1

A bit of a blast from the past, Ross Fisher hasn’t picked up a title on the European Tour since his hay days of the late 2000’s and early 2010’s, with his last victory coming at the 2014 Tshwane Open. Almost 15 years ago now he was one of the best British golfers going, and he has been creeping under the radar recently, finding some good form on the European Tour.

Missing the cut in his last two events, Fisher prefaced that with a T23 finish at the Irish Open where he was 12 under par and third on the leaderboard after the first two rounds. He faded in the last two rounds, shotting eight under overall to finish T23, but there were certainly positive signs.

At 200/1 he is certainly not a shoo-in for the top of the leaderboard, but we think he could represent exceptional value should he act on the positive signs that he has shown at times throughout this year.

Fisher is one of the very best when it comes to hitting greens in regulation, which can be key on the tough Links courses, and he ranks second on the European Tour in that aspect. Not only does he have the skills to go well here, but his shortcomings from the 2008 edition of this tournament will still be something he is looking to overturn, even 15 years on from that. Fisher was tied at the top of the leaderboard and went into a playoff which he would lose to Robert Karlsson.

With the spirit of his 2008 loss still alive within him, and a resurgence to his form of old on the cards, we make Ross Fisher great value at 200/1 to sneak a top six place, or even go all the way, at this year’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.