The European Tour is doing its best to get members ready for the Open Championship with the first of two events on a traditional links style course. The opener comes this week when the Tour heads to Ireland for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, which will be contested for the first time at Lahinch Golf Club. Jon Rahm had a record breaking Irish Open in 2017 to claim the title and opened as the betting favorite at online sportsbooks. Russell Knox won last year’s edition in a playoff at Ballyliffin and looks to become the first repeat champion since 1997. The second Rolex Series event of the season has an all-star cast of competitors ready to peg it up.
Odds to Win Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at BookMaker.eu
Jon Rahm +715
Tommy Fleetwood +1150
Matt Wallace +1450
Louis Oosthuizen +1750
Shane Lowry +1850
Tyrrell Hatton +2556
Rafael Cabrera Bello +2751
Martin Kaymer +3051
Danny Willett +3051
Graeme McDowell +3051
Haotong Li +3192
Erik Van Rooyen +3351
Russell Knox +3852
Ian Poulter +4050
Eddie Pepperell +4250
Thorbjorn Olesen +4555
Lee Westwood +4750
Jordan Smith +5555
Joost Luiten +5555
Julian Suri +5850
Thomas Detry +6050
Abraham Ancer +6450
Bernd Wiesberger +6555
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +7050
Jorge Campillo +7050
Thomas Pieters +7350
Mike Lorenzo-Vera +8050
Andy Sullivan +8350
Robert MacIntyre +8550
Lucas Bjerregaard +8550
Justin Harding +8550
Victor Dubuisson +8550
Alvaro Quiros +8550
Ross Fisher +9050
Chris Paisley +9050
Paul Dunne +9550
Ryan Fox +9550
Andrea Pavan +9550
Matthew Southgate +10000
Marcus Kinhult +10000
Matthias Schwab +10000
Adri Arnaus +10000
Alexander Bjork +11550
Pablo Larrazabal +11550
Paul Waring +12050
Tom Lewis +12050
Padraig Harrington +12550
Richie Ramsay +12550
Seamus Power +13550
Soren Kjeldsen +13550
Field (Any Other Player) +250
Odds Analysis
Jon Rahm +715
It doesn’t seem to matter where this event is played, Rahm will make a run. He demolished the field at Portstewart in 2017 winning by six shots at 24-under. His title defense didn’t go as planned, but he finished T4 last year at Ballyliffin with a 12-under. He stubbed his toe a few months back with a two MCs, but regained the form that made him one of the best on Tour, grabbing a T3 at the US Open and a runner-up at Valderrama last week.
Matt Wallace +1450
A big risk/reward pick here. Wallace is certainly a talent riding a streak of good form. But his antics on the course need to be toned down. There certainly is no need to throw clubs or berate your caddie, no matter how “intense” you are. Focus on taming the layout and Wallace could bring a nice payday. A couple of late letdowns cost him at Hillside and again at the BMW International, but he was there until the end. Now he has to finish.
Graeme McDowell +3051
We can’t go without mentioning an Irishman having a shot at victory. McDowell won on this track as an amateur in 2000 and comes in off a T8 at the Canadian Open and T16 at the U.S. Open. Surprisingly he hasn’t had much success in this event with just one top-10 in 17 starts, but recent play suggests he’s ready to step up his game.
Jordan Smith +5555
Smith hasn’t had a lot of success over his career on links courses, but recent form and a T6 at the British Masters could be signs of a turnaround. He has four top-10s in his last six starts and grabbed a T3 two weeks ago at the BMW International. He tops the Euro circuit in GIR, ranks 13th for scoring average and his approach game has been strong. Now, if he can just get over his linksphobia he’ll offer a hefty payout.
Bernd Wiesberger +6555
Injury kept Wiesberger away from the game for almost a year, but his comeback has progressed and culminated with a win at the Made in Denmark. His last start produced a T16 at the BMW International and he’s had some positive moments at this event, including a runner-up finish at the 2015 playing.
Course: Lahinch Golf Club – 7,036 yards, Par 70
Described as the St. Andrews of Ireland, Lahinch is a traditional links course nestled along the beach of Liscannor Bay. There are actually two courses on the property with the Tour using the championship Old Course, which stretches out to just over 7,000 yards at par 70, according to the European Tour website. Much of the length comes at the beginning. A straightforward first hole at 381 yards is followed by three par 4s that carry a distance of 523, 446 and 475 yards. There are two par 5s that play at 564 yards or longer making it tough to make up ground. Large dunes dot the layout creating a number of blind shots. This is the first playing of the Irish Open on this track so course form is a non-factor. But the traditional links layout will serve the field well. Wind is always something to watch for on the links, and with the bay winds kicking up it could be a factor.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel
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