Despite prizemoney stagnation Alfred Dunhill Links attracts stars
Australasian Tour Order of Merit winner- Jed Morgan – one of 14 Australians in the field – photo Bruce Young
Like events of similar nature on other tours throughout the world, this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links event at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns in Scotland, has proven to be one of the most popular events on the DP World Tour.
Since its inaugural staging in 2001, when bad weather threatened to throw a dampener on the new concept of professionals playing with amateur partners in the St Andrews area in October, the event has grown into a must play for many, including some of Europe’s best.
But the event has also provided an opportunity for a mix of players from other tours to play a relatively lucrative event which they would seldom otherwise receive.
If there is a disappointment for the event, it is that the prizemoney which was US$5 million 21 years ago, remains the same today, highlighting an event which was considered at one stage to be amongst the most lucrative on the European Tour, but now just average in that regard.
In addition to a high class European Tour field however, leading money winners from the PGA Tour of Australasia, the South African Sunshine Tour and the Asian Tour get their chance to compete for significantly higher prizemoney than is the case on their own tours, so the attraction of that, along with the possibility to team with family members, friends and stars from other sports and the entertainment industry is a carrot too good to refuse for many.
The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am and the New Zealand Open are two other highly successful examples of a similar concept, both now considered amongst the most popular and enjoyable events to play on their respective tours.
For the amateurs who so regularly turn up to play the event, not only do they get to play in the heat of the battle in a bona fide European Tour event, they get to play on two Open Championship layous, The Old Course at St Andrews and Carnoustie and another outstanding layout of the region, Kingsbarns.
The leading ten money winners from the top thirty of the PGA Tour of Australasia’s 2022/2023 money list get their opportunity headed by Jed Morgan whose win in the Australian PGA Championship in January kick started his career. Morgan, who has played all five LIV Golf events in 2022, will take up membership of the DP World Tour at the completion of this season as a result of leading the Australasian Tour money list.
Europe’s leading stars including Rory McIlory, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Shane Lowry are in this week’s field, taking the opportunity to play with family members as a means of thanking them for the support they have provided throughout their careers.
