Charl Schwartzel the man to beat at the Dunhill Links Championship

Charl Schwartzel is the only player in the field for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship who played in the Tour Championship on the PGA Tour last week. The possibility of jet lag and mental tiredness undermining his prospects is offset by a game suited to the host courses and his propensity for maintaining his focus during long rounds.

The South African made the cut in the first three FedEx Cup playoff events so arrives in Scotland as the player in form. He has the type of relaxed approach that is required to score well in the format and that makes him a leading contender this week, which is the 13th staging of this tournament played on three courses in Scotland, the only pro-am event on the European Tour.

It sees teams of one pro and one amateur play each course in rotation over the first three days. A cut is then made after which the top 60 pros and ties and the top 20 teams progress to play the final round at St Andrews. The amateurs want to relish the experience and are so precise with their shot preparation that rounds can extend to six hours or more.

The Old Course at St Andrews has wide open fairways and is the easiest course being used this week. Carnoustie is much tougher and unusually has just three par 5s and par 3s. Kingsbarns is a highly regarded course exposed to the wind. All three courses are about average in length but the generous landing areas bring driver into play and the big hitters have an advantage. However, players will have to consistently find the greens and putt well in order to contend.

In the past, due to the huge prize fund, the Links Championship played a key role in determining the Order of Merit winner, but the introduction of the play-off events and the concept of the Race to Dubai has made this a less relevant factor. However, the winner this week will still pick-up a significant amount of Ryder Cup points and given another win would be in a strong position to qualify for the European team for next year’s matches.

Inevitably luck can play a big part in this tournament as a player can get the worst of the weather on day one and find his rivals face the same course in benign conditions just 24 hours later. It is advantageous to play St Andrews on Saturday in round three so that a player can carry forward his feel for the course into the final round, though this is not always necessary for victory.

Follow our tipster Ian Hudson on Twitter at @RockIan62 or visit his website at: www.ianhudson.sport.co.uk.