Golf Events / Paul Krishnamurty / 12 May 2009 /

There may have only been three home-grown champions at the Irish Open but there's consistently been an emerald presence on the leader board, says Paul Krishnamurty. And this weekend's tournament boasts the strongest Irish field yet...

How's this for a surprising stat? In the 33 year history of the Irish Open, only three home players have won the title, with Padraig Harrington ending a 26 year drought in 2007. With the event often played on one of the great Irish links venues where experience is paramount, one would have expected more than that, especially considering the fact that there have always been numerous top-class players from both the Republic and Northern Ireland.

In reality, this is a case of the stats being misleading. OK, there may have only been three Irish champions, but there has usually been plenty of home representation on the leaderboard. That representation has never been stronger than this week, with a powerful team headed by thrice major champion Padraig Harrington from the south, and rising superstar Rory McIlroy from the north.

With the return this year to a classic links venue, Baltray, those with home support and links experience should enjoy a significant advantage. Links golf is a refined art, in which the specialists with extensive experience nearly always prosper, while those without it repeatedly struggle. It doesn't help the links 'novices' that there are only a few tournaments played on this type of course every year, of which the British Open and Dunhill Links are most famous.

When the tournament was last played at Baltray in 2004, those predictable trends were very much on show. Harrington was second, Paul McGinley fifth, and several other links or wind specialists in the top-20. Eventual winner Brett Rumford had proven himself in these conditions before, but the greatest clue lies in relatively high finishes for the likes of former Open champion Sandy Lyle, and Gary Evans, another who tended to reserve his best for links venues.

Inevitably, given the fact that he's won the last two Opens, Harrington starts favourite at [13.0], but supporters are banking on what would be quite a dramatic turnaround in form. We haven't seen anywhere near the best of Harrington yet in 2009, and as the man himself said at Sawgrass, it will be a few weeks until we do. On the upside, whereas Harrington has been guilty of lack of focus in lesser tournaments recently, he has always said that this was the most important event outside the majors for him.

For my money, McIlroy rates a likelier winner and much better value at [17.0]. For while he has been building a massive reputation on different types of golf course recently, we know already that links is his forte. He first hit the limelight with a hugely impressive Open debut as a 17- year-old amateur in 2007, and one of his first efforts as a pro was to finish third in the Dunhill Links.

There are numerous reports of Rory performing miracles on courses like his local Royal Portrush as a teenager, and he has spoken very enthusiastically about this forthcoming test at Baltray. It may also help that he missed the cut on his Sawgrass debut last week, because conditions were very tough over the weekend and those who played all four rounds might struggle to immediately return to their peak.

Besides the front two, there are numerous other Irish challengers, not least Graeme McDowell who looks cracking value at around [34.0]. He's already shown plenty of promise in the Open and Dunhill Links, and was in contention throughout for 11th place on this course in 2004. Back then, McDowell was still a novice and he has clearly improved in the past 18 months or so. I marked McDowell down for this after a recent top-20 at the Masters.

Two players with particularly useful local knowledge are McGinley, available at [70.0], and Gary Murphy at [230.00]. Both are based nearby, the latter particularly so. Another Irishman at a very big price, is Damian MacGrane at [140.00], who has proved his mettle in bad weather and on links courses.

Finally, let's not forget a pair of highly promising players from Northern Ireland, whose progress has been somewhat overshadowed by their compatriot McIlroy. [75.0] chance Gareth Maybin has been a revelation in his first year on the European Tour, repeatedly challenging for titles so far without success, but on most punters' lists each week as a first-time winner waiting to happen. The chance of Michael Hoey, winner of the recent Estoril Open on a links course, is assessed in greater detail in my 'Find Me a 100 Winner' column.

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