The Best Links Players Right Now, Ranked
Links form is the most reliable course-fit signal in golf. The bounces are random but the skills are not — and the same names keep appearing on Open Sunday leaderboards while equally-ranked players go home on Friday. With Royal Birkdale 2026 on the horizon, here’s our ranking of the players who genuinely turn up on links — and why.
The Top Tier: Recent Open Champions
1. Scottie Scheffler
The 2025 champion at Portrush. Scheffler’s game — flight control, iron precision, elite scrambling — is links golf distilled, and he now arrives at every Open as the man to beat. Defending at Birkdale, he attempts what no one has done since Harrington in 2008: back-to-back Claret Jugs.
2. Xander Schauffele
The 2024 champion at Troon, won with a Sunday 65 in foul weather — Schauffele has finished inside the top 20 at Opens with metronomic regularity. No active player combines his ball-flight control and big-week temperament more convincingly.
3. Rory McIlroy
The 2014 champion and author of a decade of Open near-misses — including the St Andrews heartbreak of 2022. McIlroy grew up on Irish links; when his wedges behave, he contends at every Open he enters.
The Perennial Contenders
4. Tommy Fleetwood
Runner-up at Portrush in 2019, raised on the Southport dunes, and the emotional centre of Birkdale 2026. Fleetwood’s flighted ball-striking is tailor-made for links golf — the hometown angle will shorten his price, but the underlying links record justifies genuine respect.
5. Shane Lowry
The 2019 champion by six shots in the Portrush wind and rain. Lowry is the archetype links player: a low, driven flight, world-class hands around the greens, and visible joy in conditions that make others miserable.
6. Collin Morikawa
Won the 2021 Open at Royal St George’s on debut — the purest iron player of his generation transferring instantly to links golf. When Morikawa’s approach numbers are peaking on the Leaders table, he fits any positional course, and Birkdale is the most positional of them all.
7. Brian Harman
The 2023 champion at Hoylake — six clear on a brutal weekend. Harman’s flat, controlled flight and putting streaks make him a perennial big-price links threat the market persistently underrates.
The Value Watch List
- Robert MacIntyre — Scottish left-hander raised on Oban links; multiple strong Open showings and a game built for wind.
- Justin Rose — announced himself as an amateur at Birkdale in 1998 with a chip-in for fourth; still a threat in majors and returns to the scene of the fairy tale.
- Tyrrell Hatton — multiple wins on Scottish links at the Dunhill; his flighted, aggressive iron play travels to any seaside test.
- Ludvig Åberg — the least links mileage of anyone on this list, which is precisely the debate: sublime ball-striker, unproven surface. The data says wait for the price, not the name.
Track all of them on the Trending page as July approaches — links pedigree plus current form is the combination that cashes.
How to Bet Links Form
Links specialists are rarely value in the outright market — their Open records are no secret. The edge is in the supporting markets: top 10/20 finishes for the perennial contenders, matchups against links-naive opponents, and each-way plays when enhanced Open place terms stretch to 10 or 12 positions. Cross-reference this list with the Statz projections in Open week.
Best Links Players FAQ
Who is the best links player in the world right now?
Scottie Scheffler settled the argument by winning the 2025 Open at Royal Portrush — the world number one’s control-first game translates to any surface. Behind him, Xander Schauffele (2024 Open champion), Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry have the strongest sustained links records among active players.
Why are some players better on links courses?
Links golf rewards a different skill set: flighting the ball in wind, judging running approaches, putting from off the green and accepting bad bounces. Players raised on seaside golf — or with games built on trajectory control rather than aerial power — hold a measurable, repeatable edge at Opens.
Does links form carry over from year to year?
Yes — more than almost any other course-fit signal in golf. The same names populate Open leaderboards year after year, because wind skills and links judgement don’t regress the way putting streaks do. Past Open top-25s are one of the most predictive filters for future Open performance.
Is Tommy Fleetwood good on links courses?
Exceptionally. Fleetwood grew up in Southport on the Birkdale coastline, was runner-up at the 2019 Open at Portrush, and consistently contends in wind-affected events. The 2026 Open at his home course, Royal Birkdale, is the most anticipated hometown story of the golf year.
Which links players offer betting value at The Open?
The value typically sits with proven links performers whose all-round world ranking understates their Open-specific record. Rather than betting the market leaders at short prices, compare Open results and links form against each-way odds — the top 10/20 markets are where links specialists earn their keep.