Irish Open Tips: 40/1 shot can shine in County Down
A strong field will tee it up at County Down this week, with the Irish Open drawing three of the world’s top 35 players to the DP World Tour event.
The likes of Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre and Shane Lowry will all feature at Royal County Down, along with three-time major winner Padraig Harrington and former world number one Luke Donald.
Having trawled through the stats and form guide, we have selected three picks to consider for this week’s event.
Betting Tip 1: Ryan Fox E/W @ 40/1
Experienced New Zealander Ryan Fox has come close to winning this tournament on more than one occasion, with runner-up finishes in 2018 and 2022.
He finished three shots behind Adrian Meronk at Mount Juliet two years ago, but the 2018 performance was more notable for this week’s test.
He lost a play-off to Scotland’s Russell Knox that year on a links course at Ballyliffin, similar to Royal County Down.
Growing up in Auckland, Fox has experienced golf in all conditions, and his powerful ball striking makes him a contender on a links setup.
The 37-year-old is a former Dunhill Links champion and showed his ability to deal with the wind and course undulations with a T25 finish at The Open this year.
Putting on undulating greens will be key this week, and Fox currently ranks fifth on the DP World Tour for Average Putts Per Round.
Betting Tip 2: Alex Fitzpatrick E/W @ 50/1
Alex Fitzpatrick has been knocking on the door in his attempts to win a first DP World Tour title and this week could see him end that wait.
Having seen his older brother Matt win a major and make an impact at the highest level, Alex has shown he is ready to enjoy his own success.
Finishing T17 at The Open was an indication of his liking to links courses, which was also highlighted by a 65 in the opening round of the Scottish Open.
The 25-year-old heads to Ireland in good form, after securing a T6 finish at last week’s European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre.
He is another player who has enjoyed a decent year with the flat stick, with Fitzpatrick ranked inside the top-25 in Average Putts Per Round.
Betting Tip 3: Rasmus Hojgaard E/W @ 25/1
It’s been 14 months since Rasmus Hojgaard won an event on Tour, but the Dane has shown some positive signs in recent times.
He finished third at the British Masters two weeks ago and followed that up with a T17 spot at last week’s European Masters.
Rasmus, who sits inside the top-15 for stroke average this season, made the cut in awful conditions at Troon.
He also claimed a T21 finish in the Scottish Open a week earlier, which included a second round 63, showing how capable he is on tough links courses.
Recent form has seen Rasmus move into the world’s top 90 and is now 11th in the Race to Dubai rankings.