Round 4 - Tyler Duncan retains title

October 9, 2017

Tyrrell Hatton retained his title at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Sunday after a final round at St. Andrews in which Ross Fisher shot a course-record 61 at the home of golf.

On a calm day on the storied Old Course, even a bogey-free round by Fisher containing 11 birdies could not reel in overnight leader Hatton, who shot 6-under 66 for a three-stroke victory over his fellow Englishman.

Hatton became the first player in the 17-year history of the Dunhill Links to successfully defend the title in a tournament played over three Scottish courses - the Old Course, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie. His aggregate score of 24-under 264 was a tournament record, after rounds of 68-65-65-66.

Both of Hatton's career titles have come at the Dunhill Links, having won with a score of 23 under par in 2016.

Fisher - the runner-up for a second straight year - had a putt for eagle from the Valley of Sin on No. 18, which would have sealed the first round of 59 in the history of the European Tour. It fell two feet short and he missed the birdie putt back, though still broke the course record - held jointly by six players - by a stroke.

Fisher birdied four holes in a row from No. 2, then Nos. 7, 8 and 9 for a front nine of 29. A burst of four straight birdies from No. 12 then helped Fisher reduce Hatton's lead to three strokes, down from a margin of six at the turn.

''They started taking all the stuff off the leaderboards so I didn't see a leaderboard until the 16th green and saw he was on 21 (under),'' Hatton said. ''That made the 17th tee shot a lot harder.''

Still, Hatton found the fairway with his drive on the notoriously tough Road Hole and even sailed his approach near to the flag on the narrow green. A par at No. 17 meant he could enjoy arguably the most famous walk in golf, over the Swilcan Bridge and down the 18th fairway.

Victor Dubuisson was 10 under after 15 holes and also on course to break the course record, before a bogey at No. 16 slowed the Frenchman. Dubuisson finished with a 63 and was third, seven shots off Hatton.

Rory McIlroy shot even-par 72 to finish tied for 63rd on 4 under par, meaning he ended a season without a victory for only the second time in his professional career.

Round 3 - Tyrrell Hatton vaults five clear

October 8, 2017

Defending champion Tyrrell Hatton opened up a five-shot lead heading into the final round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Saturday.

A bogey-free 7-under-par 65 put Hatton in a commanding position to defend the title the Englishman won by four shots last year at St. Andrews, the home of golf.

After opening with a 68 on the Old Course on Thursday, he followed that with a 65 at Carnoustie, and matched that mark at Kingsbarns to go to 18 under.

Gregory Bourdy of France was his closest challenger at 13 under after a 66.

Paul Dunne of Ireland was at 11 under, with former world No. 1 Luke Donald and Ross Fisher a further shot back.

Rory McIlroy was at 4 under overall, one more than the cut line.

Hatton got up to 14th in the world rankings in March before enduring a frustrating summer, but that will all be forgotten should he become the first man to successfully defend this title.

''To win at the home of golf once is incredible, but to do it again and defend would be a dream come true,'' he said.

Starting on the back nine, he birdied the 10th, 12th and 14th, hit a brilliant approach to the first, and then did well to get up and down from a bunker on the third. Another birdie on the fourth handed him a six-shot lead.

Bourdy made four birdies in a row from the third at Carnoustie, while Dunne, who claimed a maiden pro win last week at the British Masters, had three birdies and a bogey in a 70 at Kingsbarns.

Fisher birdied six of his last seven holes at Kingsbarns for a 67, and Donald also produced a big finish with four birdies in seven holes.

Round 2 - Tommy Fleetwood leads after course record

October 7, 2017

Tommy Fleetwood broke the course record at Carnoustie by shooting 9-under 63 to tie for the lead with defending champion Tyrrell Hatton after two rounds of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Friday.

Hatton also tamed the tough British Open venue, shooting 65 to move to 11 under par for the tournament. The English golfers were a stroke clear of Nicolas Colsaerts, and two ahead of Paul Dunne and Marcel Siem.

Playing his first event since becoming a father for the first time last week, Fleetwood birdied six of the last eight holes to complete a bogey-free round and beat the course record by a shot.

Carnoustie is regarded as the most difficult of the three courses that stage the tournament. Kingsbarns and the Old Course at St. Andrews are the others, with players alternating between the three in the first three rounds before playing at St. Andrews again for the final round.

Fleetwood holds a big lead in the Race to Dubai rankings despite playing in only one of the last seven tournaments on the European Tour. This season, he has won the Abu Dhabi Championship and the French Open, finished second at a World Golf Championship in Mexico, and placed fourth at the U.S. Open.

He has three top-five finishes at the Dunhill Links, which he says is one of his favorite events.

Hatton followed up a 68 at the Old Course with an even better round at Carnoustie, featuring birdies on four of the last six holes - including chipping in at the par-3 16th.

Winning the Dunhill Links, amid a strong finish to last season, helped lift Hatton to No. 14 in the world ranking. He made just two cuts in nine events from the Masters to the U.S. PGA Championship this year, but has back-to-back top 10s since.

Colsaerts has had consecutive 67s, at Kingsbarns then the Old Course.

Rory McIlroy shot a 71 at Carnoustie and was even par after two rounds. Eleven shots off the lead, McIlroy is likely to finish a season without a victory for just the second time in his pro career.

Round 1 - Paul Dunne continues hot streak

October 6, 2017

Paul Dunne picked up where he left off at Newcastle-upon-Tyne as he led the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship with Nicolas Colsaerts after the first round on Thursday.

Four days after winning the British Masters, Dunne shot a 5-under-par 67 in the three-course event on the Old Course. Colsaerts' 67, which represented a strong recovery after a triple-bogey 7 at the third, came at Kingsbarns.

Five players were in a tie for third at 4 under, including defending champion Tyrell Hatton, his fellow Englishman Oliver Fisher and Ireland's Shane Lowry. They also began at St. Andrews.

Ten players were on 3 under, including England's Ben Evans and Scot David Drysdale, who recorded the best scores at the third course being used, Carnoustie, along with Joakim Lagergren.

Rory McIlroy, who was playing alongside his father Gerry in the pro-am, carded 73 at St. Andrews.

McIlroy was 3 over before he finished with birdies at the 14th and 18th. It might have been better had eagle putts at the ninth and 18th rolled in.

Dunne maintained the momentum which allowed the Irishman to beat McIlroy to his maiden European Tour title last week.

Returning to the Old Course, the scene of his impressive showing as an amateur in the 2015 British Open, Dunne birdied the third and sixth and holed from 22 feet for eagle at the ninth.

Further birdies followed at the 11th and 14th. There was a slip at the 17th - the notoriously difficult Road Hole - and a missed opportunity at the last.

At Kingsbarns, Colsaerts recovered from his poor third hole by claiming birdies at four of the next five holes. The Belgian added three more birdies on the back nine, including the 17th and 18th.

Scores

 

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