IN CASE it has slipped your attention, there is a rather big sporting event taking place on these shores this week, with a number of global superstars taking part.
I’m referring to the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, which gets going bright and early tomorrow morning at the world-famous Royal County Down, and it should be feast of golf for the massive crowds flocking to Newcastle over the coming days.
The biggest superstar at the event is clearly world number one Rory McIlroy, who has been wearing any number of hats in the build-up to the tournament, most notably host, with the event running in conjunction with his charitable foundation. McIlroy has also been acting as something of an agent, with his name and connections in the game attracting one of the best line-ups seen for a regular European Tour event for a number of years.
As well as the Holywood man, we have world number seven Sergio Garcia, recent Players Championship winner Rickie Fowler, US Open champion Martin Kaymer, four-time Major winner Ernie Els, and former world number ones Lee Westwood and Luke Donald in attendance.
Then there are the other Irish Major winners in Graeme McDowell, Darren Clarke and Pádraig Harrington, all of whom will be dying to put on a good show in front of their home crowd.
The calibre of the line-up clearly owes plenty to McIlroy’s powers of persuasion, although the fact the event returns to a proper old links course will have played no small part. When these superstars think of Ireland, they picture tough, scenic, seaside courses, and the Irish Open should be played on a links as often as possible.
Yet it hasn’t been held at a links venue since the 2012 renewal at Royal Portrush, when Jamie Donaldson upset the Irish party and ran off with his maiden European Tour title. The Welshman, now a global figure in the game himself, is also in the field this week, alongside defending champion Mikko Ilonen, who won at Fota Island in Cork a year ago.
Yet, the majority of the spectators will be hoping to see McIlroy win, and as always he is a strong favourite, at no bigger than 10/3 (Bet365).
As I say on an almost weekly basis, if the Holywood man turns up at anywhere near his best, the rest are playing for second, and he will probably benefit from missing the cut at the BMW PGA at Wentworth last week after a hectic run of events.
Rory knows the course better than anyone in the field, having played there all his life, and is obviously the man to beat. He has called this event his fifth Major for the season and appears to be genuinely excited about the prospect of winning in front of home galleries.
However, there has to be a slight chance his off-course responsibilities could take a bit too much out of him over the course of the week, and I’ll take a chance and pass on the 10/3 offered. Fowler and Garcia are tucked in behind McIlroy in the betting, just as they were at the Open Championship at Hoylake last summer, when they shared second place.
Fowler is a general 12/1 chance, with Garcia available at 16/1 with Boylesports. Both have great links pedigree and very decent form, but it is the American who is my idea of the winner this week.
Fowler could not be coming into this one with any more confidence, having won the Players at Sawgrass on his last outing to silence anyone doubting about his ability to turn good performances into wins. He has taken a break since then to recharge his batteries, and arrived in Newcastle early to re-acquaint himself with Royal County Down, where he starred in a winning US Walker Cup team back in 2007.
He took three points out of four that week to show a liking for links courses, and he has backed that up since, with his second at Hoylake last July following on from a fifth at Sandwich in 2011.
Fowler has shown he can play in any conditions, and with plenty of showers expected this week that is bound to be a help, so he could just upstage his good friend and rival McIlroy on what he calls “one of his favourite courses in the world”.
As for the home contingent, I think Shane Lowry is the most likely – other than McIlroy – to step up to the plate. The Offaly man made a return to form at Wentworth over the weekend, finishing in a tie for sixth after starting the week slowly.
He seems to peak around this time of year after starting relatively slowly, and Lowry will be confident of going well again in an event he won as an amateur in 2009, when it was held just down the coast at Baltray.
That victory showed Lowry to be right at home on links lay-outs, and he has emphasised that impression on numerous occasions since, finishing ninth at Hoylake last season, as well as going well in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland in each of the last two seasons, with a sixth last term following a third the previous year.
Unlike all of the other Irish players in the field – apart from Harrington – he has won his home event and will relish the chance of doing so again, so Lowry rates as a very decent each-way shout ay 22/1 (Boylesports).
Two players to keep on the right side of are a pair of young Englishmen in Chris Wood and Tommy Fleetwood, both of whom went well at Wentworth at the weekend. Wood flew through the field on Sunday to take fourth place, so he will come to County Down in fine form and full of belief, as he should considering his links pedigree.
Wood was fifth in the Open as an amateur back in 2008 at Birkdale, before tying for third a year later at Turnberry when he missed out on a play-off by a shot. He loves links course, plays very well when the wind blows, as shown by his only European Tour win in Qatar in 2013, and has also performed well on Irish soil, with top-10s at Baltray and Fota Island last year.
Wood has also finished in the top-15 in each of the last three Alfred Dunhills, so he is a real contender and could go better than his 45/1 quote with Bet365 suggests.
Fleetwood, meanwhile, is a 40/1 shot with Boylesports and should be backed to build on his recent good form, which has seen him reach the last eight of the WGC World Match Play before finishing in a tie for sixth at Wentworth. He is also a lover of links golf, having grown up in Southport, surrounded by championship seaside courses, and has good form in the Alfred Dunhill as well, tying for second alongside McIlroy last term and finishing fifth the year before.
Fleetwood has every chance of going well and could well be in the shake-up for a second European Tour crown.
Finally, I’m going to take a bit of a punt by tipping Darren Clarke to find some of his old form on his beloved links terrain in front of supportive crowds. Clarke hasn’t placed in the top-10 on tour since winning the Open Championship at Sandwich in 2011, but he has played pretty decently at times and closed with a 66 at Wentworth on Sunday to show that his hard work, both on the practice range and in the gym, might be paying off at last.
Clarke is a huge price at 250/1 (Bet365) and is worth a couple of quid each-way, while there could be another couple of routes to profit with him.
Sky Bet go 7/1 about a top-20 finish which is fair enough, while I’ll also suggest an each-way bet at 14/1 in the same firm’s ‘top Irishman without McIlroy’ market.
Lowry, Harrington, McDowell and Michael Hoey are above him in the betting there, and while there is a big contingent of lesser Irish lights in the field, there is every chance Clarke can finish amongst the top three home stars.
HAVE AN IRISH OPEN PUNT
Rickie Fowler, e/w, 12/1 (General)
Shane Lowry, e/w, 22/1 (Boylesports)
Chris Wood, e/w, 45/1 (Bet365)
Tommy Fleetwood, e/w, 40/1 (Boylesports)
Darren Clarke, e/w, 250/1 (Bet365); top-20 finish, 7/1 (Sky Bet); top Irishman without McIlroy, e/w, 14/1 (Sky Bet)
