The second Rolex Series event of the season concludes on Sunday when the DDF Irish Open winner is crowned at the magnificent Lahinch Golf Club out in County Clare. We’ve had three wonderful rounds of golf so far and are set up for another one to finish off the tournament.
We have a bunched leaderboard with some huge names towards the top and plenty more stalking the leaders and with a huge prize pool up for grabs on Sunday as well as the rewards that come with winning, everything is in place for drama and excitement in droves.
Round 3 Recap
It was a low scoring moving day on Saturday and at the end of it, it is Robert Rock who will take a one shot lead into the final round after he carded an incredible round of 60 to move up to 13 under par. He leads by one from two class acts at European Tour level in our pre-tournament pick Eddie Pepperell and Rafa Cabrera Bello. They sit a shot ahead of 36 hole leader Zander Lombard who is on 11 under. Andy Sullivan and Bernd Wiesberger are stalking the leaders on 10 under with Jon Rahm a couple of shots further back on 8 under.
It was a bit of a frustrating day for us on Saturday as our two ball bet tied which is the worst possible outcome on those things as you are so close to a winner but end up with a full loser. That means we have some work to do to put that right over the final day of the tournament on Sunday to maintain profit for the week on the match betting front.
Sunday Betting
As ever on the majority of Sunday’s the only main bet to go at is the outright winner market but I’m quite happy with my position in that offering having backed Eddie Pepperell outright. At the very worst he should deliver a place but in my eyes he is the most likely winner of the tournament now. Those who like to hedge might consider taking the new favourite Cabrera Bello. He has won the Scottish Open recently which was on a links track so he knows how to get it done on a links course but I’m pretty happy to stick with Pepperell to get the job done for me so it is over to the two balls for a final day bet.
Sunday 2 Balls
The players are back out in twos on Sunday as we finish the tournament in pairs with the last group out off the first tee at 12.55 BST. That group will consist of Robert Rock and Rafa Cabrera Bello with Eddie Pepperell back out alongside Zander Lombard 10 minutes before that. There are a number of decent groups out earlier in the day. They include the 11.00 tee time which sees Lee Westwood alongside PGA Tour star Abraham Ancer. I like one bet on Sunday.
Edoardo Molinari vs Thorbjorn Olesen
Match tees off at 11.30 BST
Two men who sit six shots off the lead heading into the final round go out alongside each other with the chance of sticking in a low score and hoping to give themselves a chance on the back nine or at the very least land a big cheque when Edoardo Molinari goes out alongside Thorbjorn Olesen.
I like the Italian here at a decent enough price. Olesen has a good history on links tracks but even though these two are on the same score the only statistic Olesen is better than Molinari at is driving distance which is the least important. Molinari has hit more greens in regulation this week and he has a much lower putts per GIR number than the Dane and that combination alone will give him every chance here. EMo is pretty experienced on Sunday’s in big events so I don’t see him wilting. If the leaders do escape he’s the one who has more to play for in terms of cash and rankings which will keep him focused on going forward. I’ll take Molinari at 15/8.
Tips
WON – Back E.Molinari to beat T.Olesen for a 4/10 stake at 2.88 with Betfair
Back him here: