Despite winning 4 times on the European Tour in little over a year, Matt Wallace is still seemingly underrated by the bookmakers. At 59th in the OWGR and with a decent haul of ranking points up for grabs, the Hillingdon man knows that this week represents a massive opportunity to move inside the coveted top-50 for the end of the year and that will unlock access to the biggest events in golf so that he can prove to the world what he’s capable of. Missing out on the Ryder Cup will have stung, however the way that the 28 year-old dealt with the barrage of questions on Thomas Bjorn’s decision was impressive and if he can continues the sharp upward trajectory to his career that we’ve seen of late then inclusion in the 2020 team seems increasingly likely. Despite all that, with a number of both the US and European teams here in attendance, I’m sure that Matt will be keen to make his point this week and put in a contending performance.

Wins at the Open de Portugal, Indian Open, BMW International Open and most recently the Made in Denmark show a level of diversity in his game that suggests he’s far from a one-trick pony when it comes to course types that he can compete on, and I’d expect some success on a links track to follow soon enough, even though it’s not overly evident from his record save for a couple of linksy top-10s last year. That said, the Englishman was in a decent spot heading into the weekend here last year with opening rounds of -3 (St Andrews) and -5 (Carnoustie) to put him in a net 6th place at the halfway point, before a nightmare back 9 at Kingsbarns on Saturday put paid to his title aspirations. Perhaps that eventual 59th place finish has been enough to deflect attention from the bookies for this week, however it’s worth noting that he was struggling with a wrist injury this time last year and had withdrawn from the British Masters the week before as it was too painful, so perhaps we should focus on the positives from the first 2-and-a-half rounds more than his eventual finish.

It’s fair to say that Wallace has tended to go off the boil a little after his victories on Tour, although that wasn’t always the case as he rattled off 6 Alps Tour wins in quick succession back in 2016, so can clearly hold his form when the mood takes him. Opening rounds of 64 and 67 in Portugal on his last start threatened another contending performance, however he faded over the weekend and perhaps he wasn’t quite over the mental and physical strain that had seen him pull out of the KLM Open the week before. With a week’s worth of additional rest under his belt, his appetite well and truly whet from the weekend’s action in Paris, and the lure of a top-50 OWGR spot, I can see another huge week coming from Matt here. RESULT: T28

ontending performances from one of the European Ryder Cup team has been the feature of recent Dunhill Links events that followed immediately after the main event, with Martin Kaymer winning here in 2010 and Rory McIlroy finishing runner up in 2014 after their exploits at Celtic Manor and Gleneagles respectively, however perhaps it’s one of Thomas Bjorn’s vice-captains who’ll make the biggest impact here this week with Padraig Harrington taking preference. Tommy Fleetwood’s incredible partnership with Francesco Molinari meant that the Southport man played 5 times in three days and eventually ran out of steam against Tony Finau in the singles, whereas teammate Thorbjorn Olesen was rested after an unsuccessful first foray into the tournament on Friday morning before producing an outstanding 5&4 victory over Jordan Spieth in the singles to undoubtedly put a spring in his step ahead of this week. Tyrrell Hatton is defending this week as he seeks a rare three-peat, however he too was used quite sparingly and like Olesen contributed just a single point to the cause. Once the partying has subsided, it wouldn’t surprise to see any of these three contend this week – although each are risky at the relatively short prices on offer.

Qualifying by rights or even snaring a captain’s pick was never remotely a consideration for this year’s Ryder Cup for Harrington, however as one of Bjorn’s trusty aides he was involved throughout and with 6 appearances in the team over the years his wealth of experience will have been another important part of the overall jigsaw. It’s clear from listening to his excellent interview with Andrew Cotter that he believes he’s far from finished at the age of 47 and that his game’s in the kind of shape to contend and win events all the way up to Major level. To back up his assertion that there’s life in the old dog yet, recent form on the golf course has been extremely encouraging with a runner-up finish to Andrea Pavan at the Czech Masters where we made just 2 bogeys on the week on his way to a 20-under total, then he finished 5th at the KLM Open on his next start, 3 shots behind eventual winner Ashun Wu. Another 21 birdies that week encourages further for the challenge of a Dunhill Links birdie-fest and despite a missed cut in Portugal on his last start, I’m happy to support him here at an event that he’s already won twice in the past in both 2002 and 2006.

Back-to-back Open Championship victories in 2007 and 2008 add further validation to his links credentials if any were needed, however it’s the fact that his irons are working so nicely that ultimately gets him the nod. 87.5% of greens found in regulation in Holland led the field in that respect and after more than 2 decades of professional golf that represents the best recorded GIR stats of his career. For a player like Harrington, who ordinarily makes his score through a combination of scrambling and putting, that’s as strong an indicator of impending success that we’re likely to see, especially as he returns to an event that’s been so good to him over the course of his career. RESULT: T7

Prior to Tyrrell Hatton’s dominance of this event over the past 2 years, we had an eclectic mix of winners here in the shape of David Howell (125/1), Oliver Wilson (500/1) and Thorbjorn Olesen (200/1) who were clearly unfancied given their starting prices. All had one thing in common though and that was a previous top-3 finish here at the Dunhill Links at some point prior to their success here: Howell had finished 3rd, 6th, 5th and more recently 8th before his win in 2014; Wilson had produced a fast-finishing 2nd in 2009 with a final round 65 to sit alongside Rory McIlroy behind Simon Dyson; and Thorbjorn Olesen contended all week in 2012 to finish 2nd behind Branden Grace. Bradley Dredge’s 2nd place finish here back in 2006 is encouraging form then, albeit distant, however a more recent contending performance in 2015 when he was 4th heading into Sunday suggests that an investment is worthwhile at the price on offer. Truth is, the 45 year-old has tended to produce his best golf in and around the British Isles and a further runner-up finish at Gleneagles (and another 2 top-10 finishes there over the years), plus a top-10 at the Scottish Open all bode well. Both of the Welshman’s European Tour wins followed a top-20 finish, so incoming form of 6th (KLM Open) and 16th (Portugal Masters) offers further encouragement and crucially he’s putting well again ahead of a week where a decent putting performance is pretty much a pre-requisite. 13 birdies over the weekend in Portugal and rounds of 65/67 to finish will have set him up nicely for this and although there’s always the suggestion of frailty on a Sunday, let’s hope he can produce the kind of finish that saw him win both of his Tour titles by a clear 8 shots should he find himself in with a chance here this week. RESULT: MC

When I look at the price on offer for Oliver Fisher this week – the first man to break 60 on the European Tour on his last start in Portugal – my mind instantly drifts to Vegas. Not so much the place, although if Oli does win here this week then perhaps a trip to Nevada is in order, however I’m thinking more of Jhonattan Vegas who came within a single putt of hitting that same magical number in the second round of the PGA Tour’s Barbasol Championship in 2016, before cleaning up on his next start in Canada at 125/1. Like Fisher, the bookies saw that flying round as a one-off and priced him accordingly, however the Venezuelan rewarded those who looked past his flat 72-72 weekend following his low scoring round, and what had otherwise been an indifferent year. It’s almost a carbon copy for Fisher who, aside from a runner-up finish in Qatar, has had a quiet year prior to that explosion of birdies on the Algarve. A quiet weekend of 69-70 was almost inevitable for the 30 year-old who was the talk of the town for the remainder of the event, however with the focus firmly on the shoulders of the Ryder Cup heroes this week, I wouldn’t be remotely surprised to see the Essex man improve on his personal best here of 7th from 12 months ago. Despite his massive potential, Fisher has only one European Tour trophy to his name – the 2011 Czech Open – however, perhaps having etched his name into the record books with his effort a fortnight ago, he’ll find a new level of resolve at the business end of events having closed out his 59 so competently. Aside from his effort here last year, 10th at the Irish Open last year also correlates well, as does a decent record on the linksy tracks of the KLM Open over the years. With confidence high, I’m happy to take the plunge this week given Fisher’s odds. RESULT: T32

Some players are worth following on certain tracks or parts of the world regardless of their current form and Marc Warren is worth more than a cursory look whenever he tees it up anywhere in Scotland. The 37 year-old’s results in his homeland over the years include a win at Gleneagles in 2007, 3 top-4 finishes at the Scottish Open, a semi-final appearance at the 2015 Paul Lawrie Match Play and 3 top-5 finishes here at the Dunhill Links, including twice in the past 2 years. It’s interesting to note that the years where he’s produced his best form here at the Home of Golf have tended to coincide with a late-season dash to find the necessary results to ensure his playing privileges, and this season is no different as he currently sits at 150th in the Race to Dubai. The prize fund available this week tends to focus the mind though and a top-6 finish or better should be enough for Warren to guarantee that he doesn’t need to visit Q-School later this year. The 3-time European Tour winner has talked in the past about small ‘sparks’ that can create the confidence in his game that’s previously seen him venture inside the OWGR top-50, and although there’s not been a great deal to shout about this season, 17th at the Nordea Masters last month contained rounds of 65 and 66 over the Friday and Saturday which put him in 3rd place heading into the final day and in with a realistic chance of adding a fourth title to his collection. A final round 73 put paid to that dream, however after a quartet of missed cuts to follow, a 2nd round 64 in Portugal on his last start hinted that he might not be quite ready to write this season off just yet. Clearly backing a player like Warren can be a risk, however if there’s one part of the world that he can find his form it’s here in Scotland and the incentive to perform is huge, so at the price on offer I’m happy to take that chance. RESULT: MC