Jeunghun Wang became the youngest player in European Tour history to win consecutive events when he followed up his victory at the Trophee Hassan II with another win at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open last week. Wang will have a much more difficult time making it three in a row with a loaded field led by Rory McIlroy ready to compete at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open this week.
Event Details
Event: Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted By The Rory Foundation
Category: European
Date: May 19-22
Location: The K Club, Straffan, Co. Kildare, Republic of Ireland
McIlroy will host this event for the second year in a row with his charitable foundation and his presence has once again attracted a strong field. It has been 10 years since this course hosted the Ryder Cup and a lot has changed since then with 10 years of additional tree growth, changes to the rough and conditions expected to be very different after the area received a ton of rain and heat last week.
Past Five Winners
2015: Soren Kjeldsen -2 (Playoff)
2014: Mikko Ilonen -13
2013: Paul Casey -14
2012: Jamie Donaldson -18
2011: Simon Dyson -15
What To Know About The Course
Greens In Regulation will be a key stat to look for here this week as the last two winners of the European Open ranked first in that category when that event took place at this course in 2003 and 2005. The changes to the K Club could make Driving Accuracy that much more important than it was 10 years ago and it always helps if a golfer has a strong week with his putter. The forecast for this week is calling for heavy winds and rain to batter the course throughout the tournament so the ability to navigate the course with those conditions will be very important.
The Field
McIlroy is the obvious favorite this week at +400 odds but his presence has attracted a strong cast of competitors. That includes The Masters champion Danny Willett, who will be the clear second favorite behind McIlroy at +1800 odds. Shane Lowry, Russell Knox, Graeme McDowell, Lee Westwood and Rafael Cabrera Bello round out the top of the field in terms of the betting favorites to win the tournament outright while the defending champion Soren Kjeldsen is listed at +4000 odds.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Lee Westwood over Joost Luiten
Westwood is a two-time winner at this course and an intriguing play for this week considering his strong play overall including a runner-up finish at The Masters in his most recent start. Westwood has had a month off to rest and prepare for this event and it wouldn’t be a major surprise if he found himself in contention here on the final day. Meanwhile, Luiten followed up consecutive runner-up finishes at the Open de Espana and Shenzhen International with a 44th place finish at the Volvo China Open and while he should bounce back this week we don’t expect him to keep up with Westwood at this tournament.
Top Five Pick: Rory McIlroy
McIlroy has finished 12th or better in each of his last four starts including fourth-place finishes at the WGC-Accenture Match Play and the Wells Fargo Championship. He stumbled a bit at TPC Sawgrass last week but still placed 12th and the expectations for him are higher this week as the tournament host. The fact that he has missed the cut here in each of the last two years is surprising but the reality is that he is overdue for a breakthrough performance and we are banking on it happening this week. There will be a lot of people saying to stay away from Rory this week based on his results at this course but we like him as the most likely bet on the board to place in the top-five at the Irish Open.
Top 10 Odds To Win Dubai Duty Free Irish Open
Rory McIlroy +350
Danny Willett +1815
Shane Lowry +2050
Russell Knox +2050
Graeme McDowell +2550
Joost Luiten +2550
Lee Westwood +2850
Martin Kaymer +3050
Rafael Cabrera Bello +3050
Matthew Fitzpatrick +3550
