BlogDunhill Links Preview and Picks

The Buzz:

What a Ryder Cup, it’s about time the American team finally won again but what I got out of it was how great the European team took it.  We all had an idea that the European Team would be outgunned by the American team, but what struck me was the way that the European team handled the defeat.  Frankly they had some gripes, mostly the 2% of the crowd that were really nasty and heckled several of the European players.  I hate that the greed of the Ryder Cup means that so many people are admitted and that they started beer sales at 7am.  So that meant that by lunch time several “fans” were intoxicated and being complete asses.  The point in this was how the European team never complained and made it a point of saying that this was one of the reasons they lost.  In 1999 when the Europeans lost, they made a point to say that the crowd went overboard and were egged on by several American players, caddies and officials.  But that never came up and when the media tried to bait the players to complain, they never did which was great.

One thing that I think the Europeans need to change for 2018 is this silly rule that says that a player has to be a member of the European Tour.  Because of that two hot players, Paul Casey and Kenny Knox weren’t considered and frankly they would of been a better captain pick than Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood, two of Darren Clarke’s picks (he also picked Thomas Pieters).  Of the two, Kaymer and Westwood played in 7 matches and accounted for a combined 1-6-0 record which is the main reason for the European defeat.

As for the American team, Davis Love III did a terrific job in keeping all 12 ego’s checked and they seemed to mess together as a team.  Is this due to the decisions of the Task Force which was put together after the 2014 matches?  Yes and no, yes on the four wild card picks and the last minute pick of Ryan Moore worked as he won two points with a 2-1-0 record.  I will go out on the limb to say that this last minute pick will stay in place for the 2018 matches.

Now the American’s won this year, but if you look at the make-up of the teams, I saw one thing that could prove important in the years to come.  Yes the American team had some great young talent in Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler, but I can see the future of the European team being better.  Andy Sullivan and Matthew Fitzpatrick may of looked to be overwhelmed with the matches, but Chris Wood and Thomas Pieters looked like Ryder Cup veterans and I can see Pieters being a factor in majors for many years to come.  In a way this year was a bit of a changing of the guard, guys like Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose and Lee Westwood have been big players in the domination of the European Tour but they have aged and it’s time to fill there shoes with new blood, that happened this week.

So this year’s Ryder Cup was good and we will see what happens in future years.  I wouldn’t say that this could be the start of an American dominance, but I can see that the future of Ryder Cup will be in good hands for years to come.

This week’s Alfred Dunhill Links…

is the European Tours answer to the PGA Tours AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.  A pro-am event held over three great links with the conclusion on the home of golf, the Old Course of St. Andrews.

With the FedEx Cup over and the PGA Tour getting ready to start the 2017 season, they have gotten a very good field to play.  7  Major Champions including Louis Oosthuizen, Martin Kaymer, Padraig Harrington, Y.E. Yang, Graeme McDowell, Danny Willett and Trevor Immelman  will be playing. Defending champion Thorbjorn Olesen will also be returning, hoping to become the first player to win back-to-back Alfred Dunhill Links titles.

What makes this event unique is that each pro will be partner with an amateur partner and play one round over the Old Course, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie.  All three are challenging with the Old Course and Carnoustie sites of past British Opens.  As for Kingsbarns, the course is only 15 years old and over the course of time could be good enough to also hold an Open Championship on it’s links.

After this week there will only be three chances to make it into the Race to Dubai playoffs with events in England, Portugal and China.  After the conclusion of the WGC-HSBC CHampions the Race to Dubai list will be converted into a points table with each euro equaling a point.  The big difference is the Final Series is just three events, with the Nedbank Golf Challenge being added before the DP World Tour Championship Dubai.

Here are some of the secrets of what it takes to play well at the Alfred Dunhill Links:

Key stat for the winner:

Have to handle three of the best golf courses in the world as you play with another pro and an amateur for the first three days.  Those that have won in the past are patient men, also have to be able to handle all of the elements because this is the time of year that the weather will be changing and it will be a lot cooler and wetter than it was when the British Open was played in Scotland in July.

Here are some more key stats to look to for this week:

• Lots of marquee winners in the 15 years of this event with Martin Kaymer, Padraig Harrington, Colin Montgomerie, Lee Westwood and Paul Lawrie claiming the title.  But it doesn’t mean that a first timer can’t win, in 2004 Scottish born Stephen Gallacher was a very popular winner and showed that anyone can win this title.
• Have to be able to handle poor weather.  In looking at some predications for the week, it looks like it’s going to be cold every day, not getting higher than 57 with a 20% chance of rain.  There will be some wind that will make the courses play tough.  All three courses are on the sea and won’t get protected from the cold winds blowing in off the North seas.
• Again I can’t stress the importance of check out our European Tour player rankings page to see who is playing the best.
• In gauging things it’s important to point out that of the three courses, St. Andrews will play the easiest and Carnoustie will play the hardest.  So when looking at first round scores don’t disregard someone that shoots between 70 and 74 at Carnoustie.  Now the a key is to play hard in the first round, no winner since 2006 has shot higher than 68 with Branden Grace opening up with a 60 in 2012 and Oliver Wilson opening with a 64 in 2014.