One of the DP World Tour’s most unique and beloved tournaments, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, is set to be played from September 29 to October 2 at the Old Course at St Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie in Scotland, and LIV Golf will be notably represented.
Among those from the fledgling circuit who are on the entry list are Talor Gooch, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace, Jed Morgan, Hennie Du Plessis, Peter Uihlein, Shaun Norris, Laurie Canter and Richard Bland.
It will be the second high-profile event in less than a month in which a decent number of LIV players are mixed with DP World and PGA Tour players, after the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, won by Shane Lowry. There were divisive comments from both sides in the build-up to that tournament, and it remains to be seen if the acrimony will quiet down as the year draws to a close.
The Dunhill Links does include a couple of LIV’s most outspoken critics – Rory McIlroy and Billy Horschel – along with other highly ranked players such as Lowry, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood.
The tournament features one of the richest purses ($US5 million) on the circuit formerly known as the European Tour, with a Pebble Beach Pro-Am-type format and the field rotating among the three golf courses for the first three rounds. They then play the final round on the Old Course.
Next week, the DP World Tour stages the Cazoo French Open at the of the 2018 Ryder Cup in Paris, and the LIV entrants are Patrick Reed, Sam Horsfield, Laurie Canter and Adrian Otaegui.
