A pair of 60/1 outsiders are the best bets for the upcoming Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, according to the Racing Post’s golf tipster, Steve Palmer.
Palmer joined Dave Clark on the Sweet Spot to preview one of the standout events on the DP World Tour calendar.
The event, which gets underway today (3 October), sees competitors play alongside a celebrity partner across a trio of Scotland‘s best links courses. The first three rounds are played at the Old Course at St Andrews, Kingsbarn and Carnoustie before the players return to the Old Course for a Sunday showdown.
Given the need for expert links play, the tipster has picked out Northern Irishman Tom McKibbin and Dane Thorbjørn Olesen as his best bets for the event.
Olesen previously won the tournament in 2015 and showed good form on a similar course setup when he finished 12th at last month’s Irish Open.
Meanwhile, McKibbin is a player who Palmer has favoured throughout the DP World Tour season and he described the 21-year-old as “one of the best ball strikers on the circuit”.
McKibbin has had a consistent year on tour, racking up 13 top-24 finishes and eight finishes inside the top 10. Palmer was also impressed by his temperament playing in the aforementioned Irish Open alongside Rory McIlroy.
He said: “He came 30th under great pressure at Royal County Down in the Irish Open. There was lots of extra attention that week and he was playing in the marquee group with Rory McIlroy. I thought he handled it superbly for a 21-year-old.”
There is also some hope for the Scottish crowd, with Palmer offering up home-favourite Grant Forrest as another contender for the title at 70/1.
Forrest, one of the best links golfers on the circuit according to Palmer, has recorded two 10th-place finishes at the Alfred Dunhill Links and also recorded the lowest final-round score last weekend at the Spanish Open with a 64.
Most notably, as an amateur he had success at both Carnoustie and the Old Course, which Palmers says underlies his credentials as a contender.
Can the youngsters do the double?
As well as the Alfred Dunhill Links, the Sanderson Farms Championship is also taking place on the PGA Tour.
For his best bet of the week. Palmer suggested punters should look at an each-way double involving Tom McKibbin and another youngster, Nick Dunlap.
Dunlap shot to fame last season when he won The American Express as an amateur, becoming the first player to win on the PGA Tour as an amateur since Phil Mickelson in 1991, before backing that up with a second victory in the Barracuda Championship.
He is currently 30/1 to win this week in a tournament missing the majority of the PGA Tour’s highest-ranked players, and when combined with McKibbins odds could offer a good value bet for punters.
