Champion Bob Macintyre excited to be defending his Dunhill Links title

The galleries at St Andrews will be out in strength in October when Scotland’s golfing hero Bob MacIntyre returns to the Old Course to challenge for a second straight Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Last year MacIntyre rounded off a memorable seven days, following his pivotal role in Europe’s magnificent Ryder Cup victory at Bethpage Black, with a dominant performance in the Dunhill Links, climaxing with a final round 66 at St Andrews for a four-shot victory.

His admiring fans cheered him every step of the way on the Old Course, as he won his second big event in Scotland, adding the Alfred Dunhill Links title to the 2024 Scottish Open, making him the only Scot, along with Colin Montgomerie, to win both.

MacIntyre has already confirmed he will be in the field when the Championship takes place from October 1-4, He said: “It was a very special time for me. I had won a Scottish Open the previous year, then the Dunhill Links and a Ryder Cup in between. That was very exciting.

“As a Scotsman there is no better place to win than St Andrews. I can’t wait to go back as defending champion later this year to see if I can do it again. I’ve always loved to come to St Andrews. I’ve been coming here with the family for years, sometimes just to walk on the beach and to be in the town.

“The whole place is golf heaven and it makes it even more fun during the Championship that so many of my family and friends are able to come to St Andrews to support me.”

MacIntyre, ranked world No 17, was the first Scottish winner of the Dunhill Links since Colin Montgomerie in 2005 and only the fourth Scot to experience the thrill of holding the trophy aloft at the Home of Golf. Stephen Gallacher triumphed in 2004 and Paul Lawrie claimed the inaugural title in 2001.