2026 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship Preview: MacIntyre Defends as LIV Stars Return to St Andrews

The 25th anniversary of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship tees off Thursday, and the entry list reads less like a standard autumn tour stop and more like a major championship reunion. When the first drives find the fairway across Scotland's east coast, the field will feature a collision of DP World Tour loyalists, a massive LIV Golf contingent, and the usual circus of high-profile celebrities.

The headline grabber is the sheer volume of LIV Golf defectors making the trip. Twenty-five players from the Saudi-backed circuit are in the field this week, up from 16 a year ago. That roster includes heavyweights like Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, and Tyrrell Hatton, who already owns three Dunhill Links titles and finished as the runner-up in 2025.[1][2]

Crucially, the event marks the return of European Ryder Cup icons Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter. Both men are teeing it up in a DP World Tour event for the first time since the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January 2023, having recently paid their outstanding fines to regain tour eligibility.[1]

They will all be chasing Robert MacIntyre. The Scottish left-hander arrives to defend the title he captured in a weather-shortened 54-hole sprint in October 2025. MacIntyre fired a brilliant final-round 66 at the Old Course to finish at 18-under, clearing Hatton by four strokes to claim the $816,000 top prize.[2][5]

But the hottest player on the grounds is undoubtedly Matt Fitzpatrick. The Englishman just captured his 11th DP World Tour title on Sunday at the FedEx Open de France, grinding out a final-round 70 to secure a three-shot victory at Le Golf National.[3]

Fitzpatrick leaned heavily on his short game to survive a rocky front nine in Paris before pulling away. "Obviously delighted to get it over the line, it was definitely a battle today," Fitzpatrick said. "Didn't have my best stuff for the first 12 holes, there's a lot of patience but coming down the stretch today, to hit the shots that I did and make the putts I did was special."[4]

That victory vaulted Fitzpatrick 23 places to the top of the European Team Rankings with 306.1 points, leapfrogging Joe Dean. He also knows exactly how to win this specific event, having claimed both the individual and team titles at the Dunhill Links in 2023 alongside his mother, Susan.[2][4]

The tournament's unique format demands adaptability. Over the first three days, the field rotates across three vastly different tests: the historic Old Course at St Andrews, the brutal championship layout at Carnoustie, and the modern coastal design of Kingsbarns. Those who make the cut return to the Old Course for Sunday's final round.[2]

Because it operates as a pro-am, the pacing is notoriously slow, and the atmosphere is entirely different from a standard tour event. The professionals will be paired with amateurs ranging from corporate titans to global sports stars like Gareth Bale and James Milner, plus Hollywood regulars like Bill Murray and Michael Peña.

For the DP World Tour regulars, this week is a critical opportunity to stockpile Race to Dubai points before the season-ending playoffs in the United Arab Emirates. For the LIV contingent, it represents a rare, highly coveted chance to harvest Official World Golf Ranking points on historic links turf.[1][6]

With the forecast calling for classic, biting Scottish autumn weather, the premium will be on creativity and trajectory control. Whoever hoists the trophy on the Swilcan Bridge this Sunday will have earned every penny of the $5 million purse.[5]