Few events mix Major champions, Ryder Cup veterans, celebrities, and sports stars on the same fairways like the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship does. But for some past champions, former World No. 1, and DP World Tour’s mainstays, the tournament was out of reach because of their LIV affiliation. In 2026, however, the story is different.
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Robert MacIntyre returns to defend his title, while former LIV Golf pro Brooks Koepka and PGA Tour winners like Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, and Justin Rose lead the headline names. Yet the biggest storyline sits further down the marquee, where LIV Golfers, led by Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, are back on the DP World Tour at the Alfred Dunhill Links. For Westwood, a former World No. 1, and his teammate, Poulter, this is significant.
Westwood and Poulter will tee it up in a DP World Tour event for the first time since the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January 2023. Both Englishmen resigned their tour memberships that year, after fines built up from their first LIV appearances in June 2022. In June this year they paid their fines and the outstanding penalties on their records, which made them eligible to compete on the circuit again. The British duo are not the only big names from LIV Golf teeing off at the Home of Golf.
The field includes around 22 current LIV Golf pros and a few former ones, according to Golf Monthly. For Poulter and Westwood, the sequence is simple: resignation removed access, payment removed the barrier, and this week’s start is the result. That return also carries history, because both men have performed well at this event before.
Westwood won the Alfred Dunhill Links in 2003. Poulter tied for third with Luke Donald the following year, one stroke behind Stephen Gallacher and Graeme McDowell, who finished level at the top. Gallacher then won the playoff, the extra holes used to separate tied leaders. The British duo’s comeback arrives inside a larger LIV contingent.
Last year, according to LIV, 17 players from the League appeared in the event reduced by weather. This year the number is over 20, made up of full-time members and reserve players. Reserves are players listed as alternates rather than on a team’s regular roster.
The group includes two Major champions, and both are returning after debuting in 2025. Cameron Smith won the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews in 2022, and the Old Course hosts this event’s final round. Smith finished 71st here last year.
Bubba Watson was 40th, and he played alongside his wife, Angie, in the team portion of the competition, where professionals partner with people from outside the tour. Hatton, meanwhile, is a three-time winner of the tournament, which gives the LIV group a proven record on these courses.
Smith also anchors a team storyline.
Lucas Herbert, who is having a strong season, plays alongside his Ripper GC teammates Smith, Marc Leishman, and Elvis Smylie. The four are teammates on Ripper GC, adding a team angle to their appearances at the event.
Beyond the established names, several players have kept a foot in the DP World Tour. David Puig, Adrian Meronk, Thomas Detry, and Victor Perez have all appeared in DP World Tour events in 2026.
Michael La Sasso, who earned his first LIV win in the circuit’s 2026 season finale, recently advanced from the first stage of DP World Tour Q-School, the qualifying process for tour cards.
Branden Grace, who lifted the trophy in 2012, and Dean Burmester are regulars at this event. Younger LIV players, including Caleb Surratt and Jose Luis Ballester, add a newer generation to the list.
The remaining full-time names are Carlos Ortiz, Charles Howell III, Richard Bland, Peter Uihlein, and Bjorn Hellgren. The four reserves are Ollie Schniederjans, Wade Ormsby, Ben Schmidt, and Luis Carrera.
With the field set, the results will show how the return of Westwood and Poulter plays out on the course. Their finishes at St Andrews, Carnoustie, and Kingsbarns will provide the first competitive measure of their form since their eligibility was restored, after a break of more than three years.
The same logic applies to the wider group. If the LIV players in the field post competitive results, that supports the case for more of them, such as La Sasso through Q-School, holding cards, and playing more DP World Tour events in 2027. For Westwood and Poulter, this week’s results will provide the first competitive snapshot of their return to the DP World Tour.