King Kaymer To Push On After Ryder Cup Heroics

After Team Europe’s heroic performance at the Ryder Cup, many of the players are back in action this week at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship…

The Tournament
Established in 2001, this is one of the most lucrative tournaments on the European Tour, a celebration of links golf, played over three of the best courses in the world. The pro-am element is just a distraction for serious punters who will be concentrating on the main competition. Four of the victorious European Ryder Cup team have made themselves available, and it will be a fiercely contested event.

The Course
Three courses are played in rotation, with the top sixty golfers making it to the final round at St Andrews, so we’re obviously looking for proven links players, who’ve been able to adapt to this format in the past. The time of year also dictates that you should concentrate on those who’ve shown they can handle the worst of the Scottish weather, with torrential rain and howling sea gales a definite possibility.

In The Bunker
Rory McIlroy has twice finished runner-up in this event and is predictably topping the ante-post market. He’s the best player in this field, but he only showed flashes of his brilliance at the Ryder Cup, where he was overshadowed by top points scorer, Justin Rose.

After a long hard summer and an exhausting three days at Gleneagles, where he played a maximum of five matches, we can’t be sure that he will be at his best for this event and odds of 4/1 are just too short.

Recommended Bets
Martin Kaymer had a few disappointing results after winning his second Major at the US Open, but he showed signs of returning to form in the FedEx Cup play-offs, and although he earned only half a point from his first three outings at the Ryder Cup, the manner in which he beat Bubba Watson in their singles tie, chipping in at the sixteenth, was impressive.

He won this event in 2010 and although there is a risk of a post Ryder Cup hangover, his double figure odds offer compensation.

Another Ryder Cup winner worth considering is Frenchman Victor Dubuisson. He was one of the heroes of Gleneagles, where he flourished in partnership with Graeme McDowell. The rising star of European golf will still be on a high after the events of the weekend and it is worth remembering that the last time he played this event in 2012, he cracked the top five. Back him to win at 22/1.

The final name to add to your shortlist is Shane Lowry, who has been finding form in the second half of the season. Three top tens in his last six including an excellent second at the Wales Open in his last tournament suggest a third Tour win may not be long in coming. He was third at St Andrews last year and offers value at 25/1.