Amgen Irish Open:
Englishman Matt Wallace won last week’s Omega European Masters in a playoff over Spain’s Alfredo Garcia-Heredia at a price of 18-1 for his first victory since the Corales Puntacana Championship in March 2023.
This week, the DP World Tour has a much stronger field at the top for the Amgen Irish Open. Rory McIlroy (+650) and Shane Lowry (12-1) are both former champions of this event (albeit on different courses).
Aaron Rai (16-1) and Robert MacIntyre (18-1) both broke their maidens on the PGA Tour this season (Rai-Wyndham Championship; MacIntyre-RBC Canadian Open).
Rasmus Højgaard (25-1), Bernd Wiesberger (28-1), a runner-up here at Royal County Down in 2015, Thomas Detry (30-1), Thriston Lawrence (30-1) and two-time Irish Open runner-up Ryan Fox (30-1) make up the next rung in the market.
The Event
The Irish Open’s history dates to 1927 and rotates yearly at courses throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland. Biopharmaceutical company Amgen takes over as the title sponsor as it acquired and took over Horizon Theraputics, last year’s sponsor. Past winners of the event include Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Paul Casey, Shane Lowry, Padraig Harrington, Colin Montgomerie, Sergio Garcia, Bernhard Langer, Nick Faldo and a host of other European champions.
The Course
The Irish Open moves around yearly and this year it returns to Royal County Down Golf Club for the first time since 2015.
Golf Digest ranked it No. 1 on its World’s 100 Greatest Courses list for 2024.
Royal County Down is a 7,186-yard par-71 located in Newcastle, County Down, on the east coast of Northern Ireland and is a classic links course originally designed by Old Tom Morris in 1889 with alterations by Harry Vardon and Harry Colt over the years.
The course stretches along the shores of Dundrum Bay with narrow, heather and gorse-lined fairways leading to fast, dome-shaped greens that will beat back some errant approach shots.
The opening par-5 first hole was the easiest on the course back in 2015, yielding 16 eagles and 195 birdies over the four days. Only two other holes played under par, the par-5 12th and the short par-4 16th, for that week.
This is a traditional links course where players will be hitting a great deal of blind shots.
Here is this week’s scorecard for Royal County Down courtesy of the DP World Tour:
Royal County Down’s website provides separate flyover videos for each hole.
Irish Open Recent History
2023: Vincent Norrman (-14/274); The K Club; 50-1
2022: Adrian Meronk (-20/268); Mount Juliet; 22-1
2021: Lucas Herbert (-19/269); Mount Juliet; 33-1
2020: John Catlin (-10/270); Galgorm Castle; 40-1
2019: Jon Rahm (-16/264); Lahinch; 8-1
2018: Russell Knox (-14/274); Ballyliffin; 28-1*
2017: Jon Rahm (-24/264); Portstewart; 14-1
2016: Rory McIlroy (-12/276); The K Club; 4-1
2015: Søren Kjeldsen (-2/282); Royal County Down 150-1**
2014: Mikko Ilonen (-13/271); Fota Island; 80-1
2013: Paul Casey (14/274); Carton House; 50-1
2012: Jamie Donaldson (-18/270); Royal Portrush; 66-1
2011: Simon Dyson (-15/269); Killarney; 25-1
2010: Ross Fisher (-18/266); Killarney; 20-1
Playoff win over Ryan Fox – *
Playoff win over Eddie Pepperell & Bernd Wiesberger – **
Trends and Angles
- 11 of the last 12 Irish Open champions had at least one top-10 within seven lead-up events coming into this event with Lucas Herbert being the lone exception in 2021.
Selections
Bernd Wiesberger (28-1, Caesars Sportsbook)
Wiesberger lost in a playoff at Royal County Down to long shot Søren Kjeldsen nine years ago.
The Austrian ranks top 6 or better on the DP World Tour this season for Scoring Average, Strokes Gained: Tee-To-Green, Greens In Regulation, Strokes Gained: Approach, Scrambling and Strokes Gained: Around The Green.
Ryan Fox (30-1, Bet365)
The Kiwi is not in great form coming in, but he is one of the best links players in the world, having won the Dunhill Links, finishing twice as runner-up in this event plus finishing fourth and sixth in the Scottish Open.
In fact, he has four top-5s in seven Irish Open appearances.
Alex Fitzpatrick (55-1, FanDuel)
The younger brother of Matt, Fitzpatrick has been playing solid golf of late, finishing sixth in two of his last three starts with a 12th at the British Masters sandwiched between.
He was the runner-up last year at Galgorm Castle in Northern Ireland.
Matthew Jordan (80-1, FanDuel)
Jordan is inching closer to his first DP World Tour victory, having posted seven top-20 finishes, including three top-10s, one of which was at the British Open at Royal Troon in July.
He had a distinguished amateur career with links victories in the 2017 St. Andrews Links Trophy and 2018 Lytham Trophy. In addition, he was fourth at Royal County Down in the 2017 Irish Amateur.
Eddie Pepperell (125-1, Bet365)
Aside from Wiesberger, the other runner-up at Royal County Down in 2015 was Pepperell.
Pepperell is a proven links specialist with finishes of second, fourth, ninth and 12th in the Scottish Open to go along with that runner-up plus a fourth and an eighth in the Irish Open and three other top-20s in the Dunhill Links.
LIV Golf Chicago and Solheim Cup picks will be available later this week at VSiN.com/picks
