The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship has sent a loud and clear message by drawing up the tee times for the first three rounds of the DP World Tour tournament taking place in Scotland, the birthplace of golf. It is an absolute commitment to unity, to finding the understanding that global golf has been seeking for so long and that is proving not at all easy.
Let’s remember that the Dunhill Links start format is two professionals and two amateurs in each match. Well, without a doubt the most talked about pairing has been that of Dean Burmester and Billy Horschel, and not so much for the professionals, who are obviously from LIV Golf and the PGA Tour and have their own thing, as for the distinguished amateurs accompanying them. Jay Monahan, who goes with Horschel, and Yassir Al Rumayyan, who goes with Burmester, will play together for three days. The game is played on different courses (Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and the Old Course) and the cut is set after the third day.
A loud and clear message is being sent. First, as has been said, it is obvious that the relations between the heads of the PGA Tour and the PIF, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, are going through a good time. They recently met in New York and it is assured behind the scenes that an agreement is close to being closed for the Saudis to invest about a billion dollars in the new for-profit company PGA Tour Enterprises. Another thing is when an agreement can be reached on the issue of calendars and playing opportunities on the different circuits for the players.
In this sense, it is clear that the Alfred Dunhill is betting that PGA Tour and LIV Golf golfers play together more often. You only have to see the tournament’s starting groups. There are 14 LIV Golf golfers in the fray, more than a fifth of the circuit, and, except for Swafford and Uihlein, who play together, they are all mixed, especially the big stars. To know:
– Koepka with Fleetwood
– Rahm with Willett
– Oosthuizen with McIlroy
– Gooch with Wallace
– Hatton with Matt Fitzpatrick
– Matt Jones with Pavon
– Burmester with Horschel
– Chacarra with Lagergren
– Grace with Larrazábal
– Reed with Frittelli
– Surratt with Gavins
In addition, David Puig plays with Chinese Sampson Zheng, a promising Asian golfer who has just turned professional.
Of all these matches, the first eight will have the same rotation, starting this Thursday at Carnoustie. That is, it is not only being provoked that they play together, but that they spend more time together on the practice field or in the players’ dining area.
The message is obvious and healthy. Steps continue to be taken, although the global agreement on the calendar is still very complicated and, in no case, would come into effect before 2026.
