Autumn reshuffle can deliver boost for ‘magical’ Dunhill Links

This year’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is set to be “gargantuan”, according to European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley, as the big-money pro-am enjoys a spin-off from a new-look autumn schedule.

Keith Pelley, CEO of the European Tour. Picture: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

American duo Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau both teed up in last year’s event at Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and St Andrews after playing in the Ryder Cup in France the previous week. Pelley believes an even stronger field is on the cards this year due to tournament being staged in the week after the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth after the latter’s switch from May to September.

“I think this year the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is going to be gargantuan based on the fact that you have the BMW then the Dunhill and we already know some players that are going to play in both and who they are playing from a celebrity perspective and it is pretty spectacular,” the Canadian said.

This year’s event will be the 19th staging in its current format, having produced home wins for Paul Lawrie (2001), Stephen Gallacher (2004) and Colin Montgomerie (2005), with Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Branden Grace also claiming the ‘King of the Links’ title.

“The Dunhill is a magical tournament for three reasons,” added Pelley. “One is it is unique in terms of our sport that you are playing with the pros in the tournament and not just in a regular pro-am.

“Second, you are playing three world-class courses – the majestic Kingsbarns, the incredible Carnoustie and the Old Course. And, third, it is the only time that our members are allowed to play in a European Tour event on courses that are used for the Open.

“On top of all that, we have a partner in Dunhill and Johann Rupert [chairman of Swiss-based luxury-goods company Richemont, which owns Dunhill] whose commitment to the tournament and all the added benefits he brings in the way he treats the celebrities and the players is fantastic. It’s coming up for its 20th year, and it is now going to be played at a perfect time, back-to-back with the BMW.”

The Wentworth event has been moved to 19-22 September to accommodate the US PGA Championship, which will now be staged this month, meaning a lot of the focus since the end of the European Tour’s Middle East Swing has been on the PGA Tour in America.

“It depends on how you evaluate the schedule and that’s what I’ve been saying to people,” Pelley said of the changes. “We are a members’ organisation and we’ve had some terrific events already this year.

“However, our biggest tournaments are yet to come. We had a great start with the three in the Middle East. It has presented some challenges, for sure. When you have three major championships in the US, two WGCs, one in the US and one in Mexico, and the Players plus events like the Memorial and the Arnold Palmer Invitational in the first six months of the year, it is difficult.

“But I’m happy with the support for the Betfred British Masters at Hillside next week. We’ve got Eddie Pepperell and Matt Wallace there supporting the event and, of course, Tommy Fleetwood as the tournament host. That is terrific.

“It does propose some challenges but, at the same time, some opportunities later in the year. As far as big tournaments are concerned, we have some at the start of the year then around the Open Championship then after the FedEx then at the end of the season.

“Those are our four windows and the rest of the time we will put on as many good golf tournaments as we possibly can for all our members. If we can have some great tournaments like the British Masters sprinkled in there, and next year we’ve got some three million and three million-plus tournaments to add.”