Alfred Dunhill Links 2026: field, prize money and tickets

Image: the Old Course at St Andrews. Original photograph by Noah Jurik, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Official tournament logo by the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Cropped and composed for editorial use.

The DP World Tour moves to the Home of Golf from Thursday 1 to Sunday 4 October. The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship combines a professional tournament, a celebrity Pro-Am and three of Scotland's most famous links courses in one event.

The 2026 edition is the 25th staging of the Team Championship. Robert MacIntyre returns as defending champion, while Tommy Fleetwood, Brooks Koepka, Tyrrell Hatton, Matt Fitzpatrick, Cameron Smith and Justin Rose give the field unusual depth. Dutch interest comes from professional Mike Toorop and former footballer Ruud Gullit in the amateur competition.

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship 2026 at a glance

	Details
Dates	1-4 October 2026
Tour	DP World Tour
Courses	Old Course St Andrews, Carnoustie Championship Course and Kingsbarns Golf Links
Format	72 holes of stroke play plus a Pro-Am team competition
Field	168 professionals and 168 amateurs
Cut	Top 60 professionals and ties, plus the leading 20 teams after 54 holes
Prize fund	$5 million
Defending champion	Robert MacIntyre
Dutch players	Mike Toorop as professional, Ruud Gullit as amateur
Spectator admission	Free Thursday to Saturday; Sunday from £20

Three courses, two competitions

This is not a standard DP World Tour week. Every professional is paired with an amateur and the first three rounds are spread across three courses. Each team plays the Old Course, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns once. The final round is then played entirely on the Old Course.

Two leaderboards run at the same time. The professionals keep their own stroke-play score for the main title. In the team competition, the lower net score of the professional and amateur counts on each hole. After Saturday, the field is cut to the leading 60 professionals and ties and the best 20 teams.

The rotation makes the draw unusually important. Carnoustie in calm weather can be a completely different test from Carnoustie in a strong afternoon wind. A player may therefore post the best round of the day without appearing to have played the best golf. Course, starting time and weather must all be considered when reading the leaderboard.

How much prize money is available?

The total prize fund is $5 million. Of that amount, $4.8 million is reserved for the individual professional tournament and $200,000 for the team event.

The individual champion receives $816,000. Second place is worth $528,000 and third place $302,400. In the team competition, prize money is paid to the professional: $50,000 for first, $30,000 for second and $20,000 for third. The amateur plays for the title and the experience, not for a share of the cheque. The full split is published in the tournament's official championship information.

There are also 5,000 Race to Dubai points and 1,500 Ryder Cup qualification points available. The winner receives 835 Race to Dubai points, which makes this more than a relaxed Pro-Am at the end of the season.

Fleetwood, Koepka and Hatton lead a strong field

The official entry list brings players from several parts of the professional game together. Fleetwood, Fitzpatrick, MacIntyre, Rose, Sepp Straka and Alex Noren are joined by LIV names such as Koepka, Hatton, Smith, Bubba Watson, Adrian Meronk, Dean Burmester, Peter Uihlein and David Puig.

MacIntyre has the clearest storyline. The Scot won the rain and wind-shortened 2025 edition by four shots after three rounds of 66. Winning again would give him consecutive victories at the Old Course, a place where a Scottish champion carries extra weight.

Hatton remains the course specialist. He won in 2016 and 2017 and added a record third title in 2024. His direct ball flight and willingness to putt from well off the green are particularly useful on firm links turf.

Koepka is more difficult to assess. His Major record needs no explanation, but this format asks for patience through long rounds with amateurs and changing pace. If the weather becomes difficult, his ability to simplify a demanding course could quickly move him into contention.

For the Netherlands, Mike Toorop is the player to follow. He is the only Dutch professional on the final entry list. He will play all three courses before the cut is made and gets a rare opportunity to compete in the same field as multiple Major champions.

Gareth Bale and Ruud Gullit in the Pro-Am

The amateur field is an essential part of the tournament rather than a sideshow. Former Real Madrid and Wales forward Gareth Bale is among the most recognisable names this year. Actor Michael Peña, rugby legend Sean Fitzpatrick and Premier League veteran James Milner are also making appearances.

Ruud Gullit supplies another Dutch angle. He shares the field with singer Ronan Keating, Linkin Park bassist Dave Farrell, Huey Lewis, Olympic rowing champion Steve Redgrave, surfer Kelly Slater and jockey AP McCoy. The official announcement of the amateur field underlines how broadly the event reaches beyond tour golf.

The mix creates a different atmosphere. Rounds are slower and the standard in the amateur half varies, but spectators can get closer to famous players than at most elite tournaments. That relaxed character disappears gradually as the professionals move towards the cut and the title becomes the priority.

What does it cost to attend?

The most surprising number is not the prize money. Admission is free on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns. No ticket is required on those three days.

Tickets are required for Sunday's final round at the Old Course and must be bought in advance. The official 2026 ticket conditions list the following prices:

Adults aged 18 and over: £20
Seniors aged 65 and over: £15
Under-18s, students and military personnel: free with valid identification

There are no Sunday tickets at the gate. For anyone already in Scotland, the opening three rounds are therefore one of the cheapest ways to watch a world-class professional field.

What would it cost to play all three courses yourself?

All three tournament courses are accessible to the public outside event week, but playing the full rotation is considerably more expensive than watching it.

Course	2026 high-season green fee
Old Course, St Andrews	£355
Carnoustie Championship Course	£360
Kingsbarns Golf Links	£486
Total	£1,201

These are the listed adult green fees during the period in which the tournament is played. Travel, accommodation, caddies and equipment hire are not included. Kingsbarns is closed to regular play during tournament week, while an Old Course tee time normally requires success in the ballot or a guaranteed package. The 2026 fees are collected in this comparison of all three Dunhill Links courses; Carnoustie and Kingsbarns also publish their current prices directly on their own booking pages.

The three courses demand different answers

The Old Course is the strategic centre of the event. Its wide fairways create angles rather than automatic safety, its shared greens reward precise distance control and the Road Hole can change the tournament in minutes. It looks generous from the tee until the wrong side of a fairway leaves an almost impossible approach.

Carnoustie is the most severe test. The Barry Burn, deep bunkers and demanding closing stretch punish even small errors. A round around par there can be worth several shots more than a low score on another course when the wind rises.

Kingsbarns is the youngest and most visually dramatic of the three. The holes run along the Fife coast, with the sea in view from much of the course. It generally offers more birdie chances, but exposed greens and coastal gusts can quickly change that calculation.

Why this is the tournament to watch this weekend

The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship sits somewhere between an elite tour event and a celebration of golf culture. The celebrity teams bring the crowds, but the professional field and $5 million prize fund make the sporting stakes real. Add three courses that react differently to every change in wind and the leaderboard rarely tells the complete story until everyone has finished the rotation.

MacIntyre trying to defend at home, Hatton chasing a fourth title, Koepka returning to St Andrews and Toorop representing the Netherlands provide enough individual storylines. The best reason to watch, however, remains the setting. On Sunday the entire tournament comes together on the Old Course, with the 18th fairway, the Swilcan Bridge and the town of St Andrews forming a finish no modern stadium can reproduce.