This week, the European Tour returns to the golf schedule with the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Before I discuss my favorite golf bets for this week’s European Tour event let’s take a quick look at the unique format of this tournament and the key player statistics that I think are the most vital to a player’s success at this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is quite different from other tournaments on the European Tour. Let me elaborate in more detail. First of all, this event has 168 golfers in the field. Most of the events on the European Tour have a field of 132-156 players.
Additionally, this tournament does not have a standard cut of the the top 65 and ties after two rounds like the majority of events on the European Tour schedule. This tournament has a cut of the top 60 and ties after three rounds.
This event is played on three golf courses over the course of four days. For those golfers that make the cut, two of the four rounds will be at St. Andrews.
The key statistics I am focusing on for this tournament are strokes gained approach, GIR (greens in regulation), and scrambling.
Here are my favorite golf bets for this week's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Here are two golfers to consider placing on your card to finish in the top 20.
David Horsey +550
The 36 year old Englishman arrives at this week's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on the heels of three consecutive top 30 finishes on the European Tour, including a 19th place result at the Dutch Open two weeks ago.
Due to the fact that Horsey performed well at the Dutch Open I decided to dive into the player statistics for the event to see how Horsey fared relative to the field. After four rounds of competitive play at the Dutch Open, in relation to the field, Horsey ranked 19th in driving accuracy (75%) and seventh in putts per GIR (1.55).
David Horsey also checks the box for me when it comes to previous event/course history. Horsey has played the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship five times since 2015. In the five tournaments just mentioned, Horsey has accumulated two top 11 finishes, including a ninth place result at the 2015 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Joakim Lagergren +500
The 29 year old fired a third round 69 at the D+D Real Czech Masters last month en route to an eventual 17th place finish.
The strength of Joakim Lagergren's game is clearly on the greens. Lagergren is currently ranked second in strokes gained putting (0.99), fifth in putts per GIR (1.71), and fifth in three putt avoidance (0.29) on the European Tour.
Similar to David Horsey, Lagergren has had outstanding previous results at this week's European Tour event. Lagergren has played the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship five times since 2015. In the five tournaments just mentioned, Joakim has accumulated an impressive four top 12 finishes, including a third place result at the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
