England’s Tommy Fleetwood won his third European Tour event of the year at the HNA Open de France, and he will tee it up this week in Northern Ireland. The Dubai Duty Free Irish Open will be held for the first time at the Strand Course at Portstewart Golf Club, and the event itself was played for the first time back in 1927. It has been played at a number of courses in Ireland and Northern Ireland, and since 2015, it has been hosted by Rory McIlroy, who won the event last year. McIlroy’s Rory Foundation will benefit from hosting the tournament. This event will begin the run-up to the Open Championship as it is played on a links course. There will also be a prize fund of $7 million on the table.
Details
Event: Dubai Duty Free Irish Open
Category: European Tour
Date: July 6-9
Location: Strand Course, Portstewart Golf Club, Portstewart, Northern Ireland
Only once in the last nine editions of this tournament has there been a winning score in single digits, and that is Soren Kjeldsen’s -2 in 2015. However, this is the first time that the European Tour has come to Portstewart, so really, anything can happen.
Past Five Winners
2016: Rory McIlroy -12
2015: Soren Kjeldsen -2
2014: Mikko Ilonen -13
2013: Paul Casey -14
2012: Jamie Donaldson -18
The Field
Rory McIlroy and Hideki Matsuyama are the favorites at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open. While McIlroy is the bigger name, Matsuyama is the golfer who is higher in the FedEx Cup rankings so far this season. To date, he has landed in second place only behind Dustin Johnson. Johnson is not playing this week. Matsuyama is coming off a second-place result at the U.S. Open but prior to that, hadn’t finishedi n the Top 20 in seven of his previous eight.
McIlroy is in 66th in the standings but that’s mostly because he doesn’t participate in as many events. He hasn’t been so hot this season, though. He started the year with a fourth, a seventh and a fourth. Since then, He has finished inside the Top 20 just once in his previous five starts.
What To Know About The Course
The Strand Course at Portstewart is a par-72 that is 7,118 yards long and its opening hole, which is a 427-yard par-4, is world renowned. It was founded in 1894 as a nine-hole course and then in 1934, nine more holes were built. In 1986, there were renovations done to the course and now, it can be a handful when the wind is blowing, which is par for the course when you’re playing links golf.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Hideki Matsuyama Over Rory McIlroy
Matsuyama returns to action after a T-2 at the U.S. Open, and he has finished in the top 40 at the Open Championship three times, including a T-6 in 2013 at Muirfield. It isn’t even the fact that McIlroy will be busy with his hosting duties; he won last year while doing so. It is the fact that he has been fiddling around with his putter over the last few weeks, using three in recent tournaments. Until he settles on a flatstick, McIlroy will leave some strokes on the table.
Top-Five Pick: Jon Rahm
Rahm made his European Tour debut last week and scored a T-10 at the HNA Open de France. Even though he has made his name on the PGA Tour and went to school at Arizona State, Rahm was born in Spain and might have made his way to some links courses when he was younger. He did finish T-59 at the Open Championship last year at Royal Troon, so he isn’t a complete links rookie. Like always, Rahm just has to keep his emotions in check if things don’t go well.
Odds To Win Dubai Duty Free Irish Open
Rory McIlroy +650
Hideki Matsuyama +1015
Jon Rahm +1550
Justin Rose +1550
Tommy Fleetwood +1550
Thomas Pieters +2250
Rafa Cabrera Bello +2550
Matthew Fitzpatrick +2850
Shane Lowry +2850
Tyrrell Hatton +2850
Lee Westwood +3250
Thorbjorn Olesen +3050
Andy Sullivan +3550
Joost Luiten +4050
Ian Poulter +4550
Pablo Larrazabal +4550
Peter Uihlein +4550
Graeme McDowell +4550
Dylan Frittelli +5050
Soren Kjeldsen +5050
Paul Dunne +5050
George Coetzee +5500
Chris Wood +5500
Andrew Johnston +6550
Alexander Levy +6550
Padraig Harrington +6550
Haotong Li +7050
Kiradech Aphibarnrat +7050
Jamie Donaldson +7550
Alexander Bjork +7550
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