Robert MacIntyre has been crowned as champion of this year’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, flawlessly maintaining momentum from his triumphant week at Bethpage Black. The flying Scotsman is in sensational form, finishing 18 under par across three fiendishly difficult days of golf.
Tyrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, and Matt Fitzpatrick joined their Ryder Cup teammate in the quick turnaround from their heroics in New York, as Team Europe continued their dominant history at the Dunhill. MacIntyre’s victory this week marks three in a row for the European’s, with Tyrell Hatton (2024) and Matt Fitzpatrick (2023) previously lifting the Dunhill trophy.
Golf Today spoke to each of the four European giants across the week, in a combination of press conferences and one-to-one chats. Here’s what they had to say about their memorable fortnight…
Robert MacIntyre: 1st place, 18 under par (66 – 66 – 66)
The champion of this year’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. MacIntyre claimed 1.5 points in his three appearances at Bethpage Black, and today can add another hometown triumph to his trophy cabinet, having won the Scottish Open last year at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick. After an “early night” last Sunday, it’s safe to say that MacIntyre felt unprepared heading into this week…
“To be honest, I had no preparation… Pitched up here on Wednesday afternoon, played about 11 holes at the Old Course on Wednesday. I didn’t do my gym work, and didn’t eat right. Everything that nutritionists and trainers would want me to do, didn’t happen this week.”
The Scotsman holds the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in high regard, stating that: “The only one that would top this would be an Open Championship at St Andrews.”
Currently ranked as the 9th best golfer in the world, MacIntyre has the Masters in his sights. He can’t quite put a finger on it, but – “Whatever I’m doing is working.”
Tyrell Hatton: 2nd place, 14 under par (66 – 71 – 65)
Hatton hit the winning putt at this year’s Ryder Cup, taking 3.5 points for Europe, in four appearances. This week, a final round of 65 saw the defending champion shoot up to second place, finishing four shots behind MacIntyre, after stringing together a hat-trick of birdies late on in his round.
Unlike this year’s winner, Hatton was able to pace himself during the celebrations last weekend, giving himself adequate preparation going into the week.
“I was very well behaved… still had a great night, but you don’t need alcohol to have fun”.
I’d say this is the perfect tournament to follow the Ryder Cup. It does have a slightly more relaxed feel to it. I’m playing with my Dad this week, which is really special. There’s not a huge amount of trouble out there (over the three courses), purely because there’s not a lot of rough. So, if you can avoid the fairway bunkers, you generally always have a shot, and it shows with how low the scoring is when we play… The whole feel of the tournament makes it a great one to play after the stresses of the Ryder Cup”.
Matt Fitzpatrick: =21st place, 9 under par (67 – 69 – 71)
The man who earned a crucial half point against Bryson DeChambeau during the Sunday singles – Fitzpatrick was also playing with his Dad, Russell, this week.
The 31-year-old was extremely proud of his Ryder Cup performance, collecting 2.5 points in four appearances.
“It was obviously a great week, and to play well is always satisfying. It’s obviously my first Ryder Cup where I played so well. So it was great to get it over the line, and actually contribute to the team score.”
Playing his final round alongside his Mum and younger brother, Fitzpatrick shares a similar sentiment with Hatton when it comes to the family value of the Dunhill, even with the vicious weather during his round at Kingsbarns on Friday.
“It’s a great week – always enjoyable, despite the weather. It’s not always ideal when it’s like this, but it’s good fun nonetheless.”
Tommy Fleetwood: =21st place, 9 under par (67 – 70 – 70)
Arguably the most popular man in golf at the moment, Fleetwood starred for Team Europe in New York, taking four points from the first four sessions only to fall short of a clean sweep on Sunday, with Justin Thomas holing a lengthy putt on the 18th.
Despite the turbulent conditions on offer this week, the Merseyside man was able to string together a steady performance and is now eager to get home after a busy summer. Here’s what he had to say on how best to take on links golf.
“It’s just very, very difficult. I think things like flight control and ball control are a huge part of playing in days like today. But that’s what links golf should be, as well. I actually think that the wind that we played in today is one of the hardest that you can get around St Andrews. Because we didn’t really have that much of a helping wind either side, that’s the defence of links golf, though – part of it is being able to keep the ball low, shape it against the wind, and use the wind.”
As he does so often, Fleetwood had full control of his ball flight this week, but felt that he was let down by his putter.
“Putting as well – I was so disappointed. I hit such a beautiful shot into 11 and then my putter was all over the shop, I ended up missing a short one – it just doesn’t get any easier when you are on the greens.”
