The European Tour heads to Ballyfin, Ireland and the Ballyfin Golf Club for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open this week. It will be the first of three straight links events for the European Tour in one of the unique stretches on the season schedule. The field for this week will include a strong cast of Irish contenders led by the sports betting favorite to win this week in Rory McIlroy. McIlroy will headline this tournament as a former champion here and the easy pick for fan favorite to win it. We broke down the field to identify some of the best bets to win the Irish Open from the group of favorites, a group right behind the top favorites and some sleeper picks. Here is a look at the best bets to win the Irish Open this week. Betting odds below are provided by BetDSI Sportsbook.
Event Details
Event: Irish Open
Category: European
Date: July 5th-8th, 2018
Location: Ballyliffin Golf Club, Ballyfin, Ireland
Past Five Winners
2017: Jon Rahm -24
2016: Rory McIlroy -12
2015: Soren Kjeldsen -2 (Playoff)
2014: Mikko Ilonen -13
2013: Paul Casey -14
The Favorites
Rory McIlroy +600
The four-time major champion is an obvious sports betting favorite this week. McIlroy won this tournament back in 2016 and his overall skill set is expected to translate well at this course once again this week. However, it is worth noting that besides his victory two years ago, McIlroy has four missed cuts at this tournament over the last five years. Which McIlroy will show up this week? At +600 odds, it’s worth taking a chance on McIlroy being at his best in Ballyfin.
Jon Rahm +700
Rahm enters this tournament as the defending champion and an obvious contender to double down this week. The World No. 5 usually plays well on the European Tour and he has the overall talent to challenge McIlroy if both golfers are at their best this week. At +700 odds, Rahm should be a popular sports betting favorite at the Irish Open.
Next In Line
Rafael Cabrera-Bello +2000
Despite missing the cut at this tournament a year ago, Cabrera-Bello has a good record overall at this event and is expected to contend this week. The 34-year-old has struggled with consistency since finishing third at the WGC-Mexico Championship but he did place in the top-10 at the BMW PGA Championship and should be confident that he can contend for the outright win in Ireland. At +2000 odds, Cabrera-Bello is available at good enough odds to take a chance on him this week.
Shane Lowry +2500
Lowry is another interesting sports betting option this week. While he’s flown under the radar in recent months, Lowry has a decent history here since bursting on to the scene when he won this tournament as an amateur back in 2009. Can he rediscover that magic this week? Lowry posted a top-20 finish at Le Golf National over the weekend so perhaps he puts it all together this week. At +2500 odds to win outright, Lowry might be worth taking a chance on in Ballyffin.
Sleeper Picks
Chris Wood +3300
Wood is a sleeper pick to keep an eye on based on his skill set and the fact that he is available at +3300 odds to win outright. Wood has shown he has the type of game that can result in strong results on links courses and that should be the case this week. He is flying under the radar a bit heading in to this tournament. That should make him even more valuable as a sleeper betting option to win the Irish Open outright.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat +4000
The final sports betting option worth considering this week is Aphirbarnrat, who is listed at +4000 odds to win this event outright. Aphibarnrat has played well in past links events and he has performed at a high level on the European Tour over the past couple of years. Aphibarnrat has proven his worth this season including top-15 finishes at both The Memorial and the U.S. Open in recent months. While he will largely be ignored among the strong cast of contenders, Aphibarnrat will bring some excellent value to the table as a sleeper pick to win this week.
