2021 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship Preview

Shane Lowry is our top pick to win the 2021 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
 (image: Sky Sports)

 

FIFE, SCOTLAND - After a two-year hiatus due to the Covid pandemic, the European Tour travels back to the home of golf in Fife, Scotland for the 2021 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

 

This is one of the tour's most prestigious tournaments on the schedule and a fan favourite without question. It is unique in the fact that it is a four-round pro-am split across the trifecta of links courses: The Old Course at St. Andrews, Carnoustie Golf Links and Kingsbarns Golf Links. 

It also boasts a $5 million USD prize fund and 5,500 Race to Dubai points for the winner, the most of the tournaments left on the tour schedule before the DP World Tour Championship in November.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY AND FORMAT

The tournament was first contested in 2001 as the Dunhill Links Championship, making this year it's 20th anniversary. Its format is similar to its PGA Tour counterpart, the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Professionals are paired up with an amateur for the entire length of the tournament. Over the first three rounds, groups will get the chance to play all three courses, with a 54-hole cut being made of the top-60 professionals and top-20 pro-am teams. The final round is then played at the Old Course, where the professional with the lowest 72-hole score is crowned the winner. Likewise, the winner of the pro-am is the team with the lowest 72-hole score.

Over the years, many celebrities and notable persons have had the chance to play this illustrious tournament. This year, the amateur field consists of singer/actor Justin Timberlake, footballer Luis Figo, boxer Wladimir Klitschko and (naturally) Bill Murray, just to name a few. 

Each course this week will test golfers in different ways. Carnoustie, site of the 2018 Open Championship and holder of the title "golf's greatest test", will play at 7,412 yards. Kingbarns will play at 7,150 yards and is the newest of the courses in the rotation. Lastly, the iconic Old Course, with its enduring and prestigious history, will measure 7,307 yards. The chance to play these courses in this format truly is something special.

What is common between all the aforementioned courses is that they are links courses, which is something that is quasi-rare on the European Tour and even more so on the PGA Tour. This is something that has always bothered me about the professional tours, they don't play enough links courses. In my opinion, a links course is the truest and purest form of a golf course; it's where golf was meant to be played. Things are not perfect on a links course; you are constantly at the mercy of the weather and consistency amongst conditions is far from even. It forces a golfer to think in different ways, look for different opportunities, play the non-conventional shot, etc. All of this adds up to a unique golfing experience, and with respect to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, an exciting tournament to watch; our favourite on the European Tour in fact.

JAVIER, SON OF LEGEND SEVE BALLESTEROS, IN FIELD THIS WEEK

Among the 138 professionals in the field this week is one Javier Ballesteros, son of the late Seve Ballesteros. Javier is also a professional golfer who currently plays on the European Challenge Tour. 

 

For Javier, the opportunity is truly special, as this will be his first time playing the Old Course, site of his father's 1984 British Open win, as a professional. This year also marks the 10-year anniversary of Seve's untimely death.

 

 

OUR PICKS THIS WEEK

Notables in the field this week include European Ryder Cup members Tommy Fleetwood, Padraig Harrington and Shane Lowry, as well as 2021 BMW PGA Championship winner Billy Horschel. Tony Finau was also scheduled to play in the tournament but pulled out last minute due to a persisting health issue. 

When making picks for this tournament, one needs to take into consideration a golfer's ability to play links golf. Not all professional golfers have the skills necessary to succeed on a links course. In addition, the event offers a large amount of Race to Dubai points, so players looking to get into the DP World Tour Championship at the end of the season will be looking for a good performance this week. Given all this, here are our picks for the winner this week. 

1) Shane Lowry

2) Pablo Larrazabal

3) Billy Horschel 

Lowry is a links golf veteran and coming off a hot week at the Ryder Cup last week. While still surely gutted with the defeat, we think he can carry over his skills to Fife this week. Larrazabal has been playing great golf on tour as of lately, including a T8 finish at the Italian Open. Lastly, Horschel is also playing great, finishing 7th at the Tour Championship (72 hole score) and his iconic win at the 2021 BMW PGA Championship. I believe he's fully embraced European golf and can do well this week. He's also playing with his father this week, as his amateur pairing.

 

Play kicks off very early Thursday morning. If you are interested in seeing a great display of links courses and what links golf really is, check out the coverage of this tournament. You won't be disappointed. 

 

 

Stay tuned for our Weekend Update post to see the storylines and drama heading into the weekend,

 

 

-Nick

Toronto Golf Reviews

 

 

Billy Horschel Wins the 2021 BMW PGA Championship

Billy Horschel birdies 18th to win 2021 BMW PGA Championship (image: Getty Images)

 

 

After a dramatic final round on Sunday, American Billy Horschel has won the 2021 BMW PGA Championship with a score of 19-under. He wins by a single stroke over Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Laurie Canter and Jamie Donaldson, after carding a final round 65 on the West Course at The Wentworth Club.

 

This is Horschel's second win on the European Tour and second this season, his first being the 2021 WGC Dell Technologies Match Play. With this win, Horschel moves from 4th to 2nd in the Race to Dubai Rankings. He also becomes the first American golfer to win a Rolex event on the European Tour.

HORSCHEL THE FINISHER

Horschel started his Sunday not far off the lead at 12-under and in the second-to-last pairing. Knowing he needed to start off well, Horschel did just that, birding holes 3, 4 and 6 before heading to the back nine. After birdies on 11, 12 and a clutch putt on 15, Horschel found himself tied for the lead with three holes left. 

But Horschel would par the par 4 16th and par 5 17th holes. Onto the par 5 18th hole he went, which historically has been the site of much drama in the past. Opting to play for a birdie, Horschel layed up with his second shot. With 90 yards left to the hole and a wedge in hand, Horschel nearly holed out from the fairway, his ball stopping a couple of feet from the hole for an easy birdie. One birdie was all that was needed though, as no one else was able to break the 18-under barrier. 

Horschel's rounds were admittedly far from perfect, in his own words, carding scores of 70, 65, 69 and 65, but it was the back nine where Horschel made an impact. Over his four rounds, he played the back nine alone at 17-under with no bogeys and managed to birdie the 18th hole everyday except Saturday.

 

For those who do not watch the European Tour often, the eliteness and importance of the BMW PGA Championship may be lost on them. This is not the case for Horschel however. Earlier in the week, Horschel said in an interview that he equated the BMW PGA Championship to the Players Championship, in terms of importance and prestige. This was something he reiterated upon winning the tournament. Horschel also stated that he loves playing overseas on the European Tour and plans to return for the Alfred Dunhil Links Championship at the end of September and the DP World Tour Championship in November.

Horschel's win this week caps off an impressive month of golf for him, after a 9th place finish in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. His performance was a week too short for US Ryder Cup Captain Steve Stricker, who did not select Horschel as a captain's pick for the upcoming Ryder Cup. There's still hope for him though, as team member Brooks Koepka is still questionable after an injury during the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

HOW DID OUR PICKS FINISH?

It wasn't looking too good for our "older" picks but here's how they finished:

 

1) Richard Bland: T57 at 3-under

2) Francesco Molinari: T35 at 7-under

3) Ian Poulter: CUT

 

Surely a frustrating week for our picks. It was also revealed by Molinari that he will most likely miss the Ryder Cup this year after a lingering back issue. Let's hope this changes, as many of us desperately want to see the famous Fleetwood-Molinari pairing again!

 

***

 

That concludes our coverage of the 2021 BMW PGA Championship. Yet again, this illustrious tournament failed to disappoint, with amazing drama and exciting storylines.

Next week, our coverage will travel back over the pond for the start of the 2021-2022 PGA Tour season with the 2021 Fortinet Championship. Stay tuned for our preview of the season, the tournament and our picks.

-Nick

Toronto Golf Reviews

Jimmy Walker Wins the 2015 Valero Texas Open

In such a contrast to the tournaments we've seen over the past several weeks, Jimmy Walker dominated much of the weekend to secure a win at this years Valero Texas Open. He finished at 11-under par and with a four shot lead over Jordan Spieth. This is Jimmy's second win this year and and it keeps him comfortably atop the FedEx Cup Points list. It's also his 5th win in just two years on the PGA Tour.

The Texas native held a large lead going into the final round and it grew as the round progressed. At one point, he was ahead by more than five shots over Spieth, who was always trailing him in second. By the end, Speith, who was playing a good final round as well, managed to take Walker's lead down to four. For most of the weekend, the attention was on Walker and Spieth, given the large separation between them and the rest of the field. For example, Billy Horshell finished solo third at 4-under and the players at T4 finished at 3-under. Walker's putter also did him well this week, especially today, having earned him a few crucial pars and birdies (looks like that putter change paid off). And being a Texas native, he was able to play in front of much of his family and friends this week, which makes the win just a bit more special.

Despite his second place finish, Spieth (a Texas native as well) again showed the golfing world that he is still on fire with respect to his golf game. He's no doubt a favourite going into next week's Shell Houston Open and the Masters, where he nearly won it last year after a battle against Bubba Watson.

TPC San Antonio again played tough on the weekend, Saturday more than Sunday. A round in the low 70's was considered good for both days at the course that's considered one of the toughest courses to break par at on tour (excluding major venues). Sunday's round saw a few more scores in the high 60's as well.

As we mentioned on our Weekend Update post, lefty golfer Phil Mickelson was also in the mix. He unfortunately finished at T30 after weekend rounds that were full of ups and downs, ranging from a near albatross on Saturday, to shooting 42 on the front nine on Sunday. Better luck next week for him.

Finally, here's how our picks finished:

1) Jim Furyk: T58 at 10-over (+10)
2) Jordan Spieth: 2nd at 7-under (-7)

Not the best finish for Furyk, but excellent results from Spieth as we mentioned. Next week, the PGA Tour heads to Houston for the Shell Houston Open. Be sure to check out our picks for that tournaments later on this week,




-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Jimmy Walker wins for the second time this year at the Valero Texas Open  

(Darren Abate / The Associated Press)

Matt Every Defends at the 2015 Arnold Palmer Invitational

In just his second win on tour, his other being last year's rendition of the tournament, Matt Every has won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill again, successfully defending the title from the likes of Henrik Stenson, Matt Jones, and Morgan Hoffman. He won with a final score of 19-under (-19) with 66 on today's round, good enough for a one shot lead over Stenson. This win gets Every into the Masters in a couple of weeks, as well as putting into the Top 40 for the World Golf Rankings.

The leaderboard was looking slightly different with just a few holes to play. Stenson, who was in the final group, was at 19-under until a bogey on the 15th. Every, on the other hand, was putting for birdie on the 18th hole. He holed a downhill 18-foot putt that was barely on the green, which ended up just being enough. Stenson needed a birdie on his last hole to force a playoff, but was unable to. This is a huge contrast to Every's win last year, where he bogeyed the 18th hole after missing a four foot putt and had to hope no one would catch up to him.

The Florida native is just the fourth winner of the AP Invitational since 2008. Since then, Tiger's won four times, Every twice, and Martin Laird and Ernie Els once. This tournament also marks the ninth tournament in a row in which the 54-hole leader has failed to win the tournament.

In other news, two players each made an albatross this week, Daniel Berger and Zack Johnson. Berger's came during yesterday's round, where he holed out on the 6th hole (par 5) to mark the first albatross in the history of the AP Invitational. Just a day later, Johnson would hole out from about 200-yards away on the 16th hole. Johnson was 8-under on his round at that point, but finished off with a 66. Incidentally, 1979 marks the last time an albatross was carded at Bay Hill.

Finally, here is how our picks finished off:

1) Billy Horschel: T43 at 5-under (-5)
2) Henrik Stenson: 2 at 18-under (-18)

Like I said, it's only a matter of time before Stenson wins again. Horschel finished okay also.

And that's the end of another tournament as well as the end of the Florida Swing. Be sure to join us next week for the Valero Texas Open.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Matt Every after holing the putt that would win him the tournament on the 18th hole 

(Michael Cohen/Getty Images))

2015 Arnold Palmer Invitational Weekend Update

We're halfway through this year's edition of the Arnold Palmer Invitational from Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Florida. It's been an interesting few rounds with some pretty low scores all around. The leader going into the weekend is Morgan Hoffman at 13-under (-13), with a three shot lead over Harris English, Henrik Stenson, and 2014 winner Matt Every. The cut has also been set at 2-under (-2), which is the lowest cut in the tournament's history

Bay Hill has been playing perfect scoring-wise, especially this morning, where the greens were soft and vulnerable with no wind at all. Many players took advantage of this, including Morgan Hoffman, who make nine birdies (6 alone on the front nine) which aided in a 65 on the day. The low round of the day however was a 64, shot by Australian Danny Lee (T6).

Probably one of the most common picks this week was Henrik Stenson and for good reason. He's probably playing the best golf of his career right now and always seems to be in contention. I'm confident he'll get another win in no time. He shot a solid 68 66, which included 4 hole birdie streak on the last few holes today. This is really good considering that the back nine at Bay Hill has seen less scoring than the front nine so far.

A less common pick this week was Rory McIlroy, who is 8-under T6. Rory shot a 66 today, which was his first sub-70 round for him in 8 rounds on the PGA Tour. He also had a nice 5 hole birdie streak on the front nine today. This is Rory's last event before the Master's, which is the major that he's yet to win.

Finally, here's how our picks are doing:

1) Billy Horschel: T23 at 5-under (-5)
2) Henrik Stenson: T2 at 10-under (-10)
3) Graeme McDowell: CUT

Good work from Billy and Stenson. It looks like GMac might be in a little slump as of now, considering how he's playing. Hopefully it's just a temporary thing!

Be sure to check our Results post Sunday evening to see who won,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Can Hoffman hold on to the lead for his 1st PGA Tour win? (Charles King/Orlando Sentinel)

2015 Arnold Palmer Invitational Picks

This week the PGA Tour stops off in Orlando, Florida at Bay Hill Club and Lodge for the 2015 Arnold Palmer Invitational. As the name says, this is an invitation-only tournament, with the top 70 players on last year's FedEx Cup rankings being guaranteed an invite and only a 120-132-man field. Due to this, we're seeing some of the best golfers on tour playing this week. This also makes the AP Invitational one of the more prestigious events on tour, due to it's "invitation" status.

This tournament is probably best known for being won by Tiger Woods eight times; the first four of those wins coming in 2000-2003. He also won this tournament in 2012 and 2013. This year, however, marks the 2nd year that Tiger won't be playing in the tournament. In 2013, he withdrew shortly before the start of the tournament, due to back issues. This year, it's due to swing issues.

Bay Hill itself is one of the longer courses played on tour, stretching to about 7,400 yards. It also takes water into play on a few holes, which always makes for interesting golf. It's also been reported that the greens are not "100 percent healthy" due to the tough winter that Florida faced. Who knows how this will affect the tournament. The greens at Bay Hill are set to be replaced sometime after the AP invitational, however. The course itself is also owned by tournament namesake and golfing legend Arnold Palmer.

As I said before, there's a few more elite players in the field. Based on this, here are our picks for this week:

1) Billy Horschel
2) Henrik Stenson
3) Graeme McDowell

Stay tuned for our Weekend Update post to see who's leading going into the weekend,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Bay Hill Club and Lodge

Billy Horschel Wins and Becomes The 2014 FedEx Cup Champion

In spectacular fashion, Billy Horschel shot a final round score of 68 to win the 2014 Tour Championship by three strokes and as a result becomes the 2014 FedEx Cup Champion. He finished at 11-under (-11) in front of Rory Mcilroy and Jim Furyk, who's last win was four years ago at the 2010 Tour Championship.

Horschel has played spectacular golf the last three weeks and is deserving of the win. This win earns him $11-million dollars and as well as many other perks in the upcoming seasons.

Rory on the other hand was tied for the lead after Saturday's round, but faltered with his Sunday round, shooting a 71. He looks to still be in excellent form for the Ryder Cup in a few weeks, despite his finish. A second place finish for Furyk just about sums up his career in the past four years. He's probably finished top 5 more times in the last four years than any other player on tour. Hopefully one day he will win.

Finally, here is how out picks finished the tournament:

1) Rickie Fowler: 8 at 5-under (-5)
2) Jim Furyk: T2 at 8-under (-8)
3) Bubba Watson: 14 at even par (E)

Rickie Fowler, like Rory, struggled a bit on the weekend and Bubba looked slightly out of form all week.

Since this was the last PGA tour event of the season, our next major PGA coverage will be of the Ryder Cup from Gleneagles, Scotland. on the European side, we'll be covering the Welsh Open this week.

And with that, the 2014 PGA tour season is officially over!

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

 Billy Horschel is the 2014 FedEx Cup Champion (Jason Getz/USA Today Sports)

2014 Tour Championship and 2014 FedEx Cup Champion Picks - Weekend Update

We just halfway through the 2014 Tour Championship and very close to crowning a new FedEx Cup Champion, with just two rounds left today and Sunday. As it stands now, the leader going into the weekend is Billy Horshel at 8-under. Billy shot a pair 66's at East Lake Country Club in Atlanta, Georgia, which was good enough for a two shot lead over Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, and Chris Kirk.

Two shots may seem like a big lead, but you have to remember all the pressure the players are on. They're playing for a potential $11 million. It's probably not helping Billy's case that he's being trailed by Rory and Jason Day. Billy had been playing well for the past two weeks however and it might be this factor that gives him the win this week.

A win here this week for Rory would be the best way to end off his 2014 season and cement his spot atop the World Golf Rankings. On the other hand, a win for Jason Day would make up for the many T5 and higher finishes he's had all year (including a WGC win).

Also, here is how our picks are doing so far:

1) Rickie Fowler: 9 at 3-under (-3)
2) Jim Furyk: T5 at 4-under (-4)
3) Bubba Watson: T14 at even par (E)

Bubba's going to have to do some serious work to win it this week. Rickie and Furyk are in good spots too going into the weekend.

With two days left, anything is still possible and nothing is by no means written in stone. It'll be an exciting couple of days so stay tuned for out post to see who won,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

The stakes are high going into the final two rounds of the 2014 Tour Championship

2014 BMW Championship Picks - Results

The final round of the 2014 BMW Championship has just concluded at Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, Colorado. The winner this year is Billy Horschel who, despite shooting a 69 on his final round, ended up winning the tournament by two shots over Bubba Watson (who finished solo second). This is just Billy's second win on the PGA Tour and perhaps his biggest and most important, with his other win being the 2013 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. With this win, Horschel moves from 20th to 2nd on the FedEx Cup Rankings, a position which puts him in a very good spot for next week's Tour Championship.

Horschel has been playing well in the past two weeks, having finished T2 at last week's Deutsche Bank Championship; he certainly is deserving of this win.

Another big story this week was Rory McIlroy. Rory, who was playing well all week, shocked everyone by making a four-putt on the par 3 12th hole on Saturday. Unfortunately for him and even more surprising to golf fans was the fact that he fout-putted the same hole again just hours ago. I guess this proves that he is human after all.

In other news, two members of Tom Watson's US Ryder Cup team have withdrawn from the tournament due to poor performance; Phil Mickelson and Captian's pick Keegan Bradley. This is the first time Phil will miss the Tour Championship in quite awhile, but he says he withdrew so he could have more time to focus on the Ryder Cup. This caps off a poor year for Mickelson all together.

Finally, here is how our picks finished the tournament:

1) Justin Rose: 35th at even par (E)
2) Webb Simpson: T53 at 5-over (+5)
3) Rickie Fowler: T4 at 9-under (-9)

1) Graeme McDowell: T36 at 1-over (+1)

Again, Rickie Fowler has played well when it matters. 

Stay tuned for our coverage of the final FedEx Cup Playoff event the Tour Championship next week,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

2014 Deutsche Bank Championship Picks - Results

The final round of the 2014 Deutsche Bank Championship at the Tournament Players Club of Boston in Norton, Massachusetts has just finished and the winner this year is Chris Kirk, who won the tournament by two shots over Geoff Ogilvy, Russel Henley, and Billy Horschel. His final two rounds consisted of a 64 and a 66, which were good enough to make him win the tournament at 15-under (-15). This is Kirk's third PGA tour win and his first since 2013 (The McGladrey Classic).

With this playoff win, Kirk now leads the FedEx Cup Rankings (ousting Hunter Mahan from the top spot), having started ranked 17th earlier this week. Geoff Ogilvy and Billy Horschel have also played themselves into the BMW Championship next week, which features the top-70 in the FedEx Cup rankings as of the end of this tournament. Ogilvy moved from 100th (just making it into this week's event) to 24th, and Horschel from 82nd to 20th.

I think the FedEx Cup playoffs is a true test of a golfers skill and ability to work under pressure and its cases like those of Geoff Ogilvy and Billy Horschel that prove it. Both of these players had to have a good week in order to make it to the next level of the playoffs and the way they played this week showed that they were able to handle this pressure. These situations also and excitement and sometimes nervousness to spectators of the sport, given the fact that just a few extra shots here and there could determine so much. The stakes are very high during the playoffs.

Finally here is how our picks finished this week:

1) Rickie Fowler: T23 at 7-under (-7)
2) Keegen Bradley: T16 at 8-under (-8)
3) Phil Mickelson: T45 at 2-under (-2)

Good play from all the picks this week. All of them will also be playing in next weeks BMW Championship too,

Stay tuned for our coverage of the BMW Championship later on this week,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Chris Kirk Wins the 2014 Deutsche Bank Championship (Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

2014 Deutsche Bank Championship Picks - Weekend Update

The first two rounds of the 2014 Deutsche Bank Championship have just concluded at the Tournament Players Club of Boston in Norton, Massachusetts and the co-leaders going into the final two rounds are Ryan Palmer and Jason Day. They share a score of 8-under and a one shot lead over Matt Kuchar and Billy Horschel. Palmer shot an impressive 63 on Friday but followed it with a 71 today, whereas Jason Day shot a 66/68 to get to 8-under.

The cut this week has also been set at 3-over but only consisted of less than 15 players.

I was actually thinking of picking Jason Day as a pick this week, and it looks like it would have been a good choice. He's probably the most consistent pro golfer in the world right now.

Here is how our picks are doing after two rounds of play:

1) Rickie Fowler: T17 at 3-under (-3)
2) Keegen Bradley: T5 at 6-under (-6)
3) Phil Mickelson: T50 at 1-over (+1)

Not too bad, and no surprise from Fowler of course.

Stay tuned Monday evening for our final results post,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews