The first round of the Irish Open will see the extended field take to Lahinch Golf Club for the first time under competitive rules this week when the opening 18 holes of the tournament is played out on Thursday.
There is a really competitive field on show this week on a golf course which should bring out the very best the area has to offer so we should get some wonderful golf to watch and some brilliant scenery to enjoy during the coverage.
First Round Leader
As ever in a Rolex Series event we will get stuck into the first round leader market and whenever we do we ascertain the format of the day. This tournament is very much like The Open with players teeing off from the first tee throughout the day, beginning at 06.45 BST with the last group out at 15.50 BST. The next thing to explore is the weather which is pretty calm all day with the wind getting up a touch in the afternoon so I’ll take a couple of morning golfers as they’ll have the best of the greens and calmer conditions.
Erik van Rooyen has previous with this tournament having blown a four-shot lead in the final round last year and I expect him to start out strongly here. He was also in the top 20 at Carnoustie last year where he opened with a 67 which is never too shabby so he has early good 18 holes in him. He’s out as early as 7.15 on Thursday which looks a good tee time to shot something low from. I’ll also play Danny Willett who loves it in Ireland He has form figures of 3-6-23-WD-8 in his last five outings with the WD when his back was at its worst. He shot 71 to begin that year which with a bad back was nothing too shabby. The other three years this has been on a links rather his first rounds have been 69, 65 and 68 so he gets out of the blocks quick. The last time he played a regular European Tour event he won in Dubai last year so I’m expecting a decent showing from the back to form former Masters champion. At 50s I’ll pay to see how he goes on Thursday.
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Thursday 3 Balls
The entire field go off the first tee on Thursday with more than seven hours of tee times so there is plenty for the crowds in County Clare to enjoy and a lot for us watching on the excellent TV coverage of which there is an outstanding eight hours being shown live.
There are a number of decent groups out into the golf course throughout the day. In the morning session the headline group of the defending champion Russell Knox, Tommy Fleetwood and local hero Shane Lowry tee off at 08.40 BST with Graeme McDowell out alongside Thorbjorn Olesen and Martin Kaymer 10 minutes earlier than that. There are three good groups in the afternoon where Padraig Harrington, Tyrrell Hatton and Ian Poulter go out at 13.10 BST followed by Jon Rahm, Louis Oosthuizen and Matt Wallace with Paul Dunne, Lee Westwood and Eddie Pepperell the last of that trio of groups. I like a couple of bets.
Robert Macintyre/Robert Rock/Jeunghun Wang
Match tees off at 11.30 BST
One of the morning groups out onto the golf course sees the Scottish player Robert Macintyre out with Robert Rock and Jeunghun Wang with all three men looking for a good first round to fire themselves into the early contention.
I’m immediately happy to get Wang out of my enquiries here. He has only made three cuts in his last 16 tournaments and broken 70 just once in that time so it is hard to see him being a factor. Rock is more consistent and tends to go well on links courses but he has also only broken 70 in the first round twice all season. That leaves Macintyre who probably only came to life in the British Masters in May but who had broken 70 in the first round three times before then. He shot 68 to start at Hillside and followed that up with an opening 67 in Denmark and 66 in Belgium. He’s used to pinging the lids and is suited to links golf and looks a big price here.
Dean Burmester/Jeff Winther/Scott Jamieson
Match tees off at 15.00 BST
One of the last groups out onto the golf course on Thursday sees the big hitting South African player Dean Burmester out alongside Jeff Winther and Scott Jamieson in another group where all three men will be eyeing up a low one.
Burmester hasn’t been starting tournaments too well this term which puts me off taking him while Winther is a little inconsistent for my liking. Scott Jamieson is struggling to put four rounds together at the minute but he is generally starting tournaments well. He opened up with a 68 at Valderrama last week which takes some doing. That was one of a few opening rounds that he has shot in the 60s this season and another one here could well be enough to deliver the goods in this first round.
Tips
Back E.van Rooyen First Round Leader (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 51.00 with 888sport (1/5 1-6)
Back D.Willett First Round Leader (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 51.00 with 888sport (1/5 1-6)
Back them here:
WON – Back R.Macintyre to beat R.Rock & J.Wang for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with Coral
Back him here:
Back S.Jamieson to beat D.Burmester & J.Winther for a 3/10 stake at 2.88 with Betfair
Back him here:
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