Golf Events / Tareq Quiroz / 13 May 2009 / Leave a Comment

County Louth Golf Club will draw every ounce of links expertise from the Irish Open winner this weekend. And, if he is to prevail in front of his supporter, Padraig Harrington will need to raise his game considerably, says Tareq Quiroz.

We have seen numeous fantastic events in the US this season and none better than last week's Players Championship. When the pressure was on, the cream of Europe rose to the top. Henrik Stenson's win adds further credence to the argument that Europe's best are emerging as the main players on the PGA Tour. I expect more huge wins from the European contingent stateside this year but this week we are concentrating on the big European Tour event in Ireland.

The Course

We have a fabulous setting for this week's Irish Open. For those of you who have tired of US style courses you are in for a real treat at a good old fashioned links course. Co Louth GC in Drogheda is the venue that has attracted a star studded field for one of Europe's more attractive events.

This track has only played host to a European Tour event on one occasion so genuine course form is restricted. Brett Rumford cruised home in that event back in 2004 with a 14 under total but as we all know winning scores at a links course are largely down to the weather. Early indications are that we are going to have wind and rain for most of the week. Bear that in mind as the winner is going to have to be a real links specialist to get the ball around with as little damage as possible.

The Favourite

It is always good to get the best of Europe playing on the European Tour and in Padraig Harrington we have the most successful European golfer of recent years. His appearance in the field quite understandably makes him the market leader. He is currently available at [12.5] and for some that will be very tempting. He was second on this course back in 2004 and would clearly love to win his own National Championships again. The downside is that he really hasn't shown any signs of form this season. He was hopelessly off the pace last week at Sawgrass and with no top 10 in the US this season I am left with no choice but to pass him over this week.

The Next Best Bets

The top three in the betting are certainly the stand out players on class. With Harrington overlooked I have to go the same way with Rory McIlroy. The youngster has just hit a slight dip and I will need to see signs of a recovery before getting involved. Lee Westwood makes up this trio and he is the one with by far the best chance in my opinion. He played well in the Masters until he lost the plot on the final nine and has shown enough this season to suggest he is striking the ball well enough to win. After wisely taking last week off, he will be fresher than most and as a fine links exponent he is the stand out bet this week. He is currently available at odds of around [19].0 and that has to represent value in this field.

The Massive Outsider

This event is just crawling with potential massive priced winners. My short list for this category is a dozen names long so it has taken some time to arrive at a final decision. The player who just gets the nod is Johan Edfors. The enigmatic Swede is hardly the most consistent player you will ever come across but in this kind of event he is very dangerous. After the three wins in 2006 he has come close on several other occasions. It doesn't register on the European Tour wins but is important to note that he did win in Thailand at the end of March. The big hitting Swede knows how to win and has the game to win at a links course so must be supported at odds of [130.00].

Interesting Info

Padraig Harington is the only Irishman to have won the Irish Open in the last 25 years and should he win this week he will become only the second Irishman to win it twice. The strength of the field is highlighted in the amazing stat that 96 of the 156 competitors this week have won on the European Tour. Look out for a tight finish as there have been more play-offs in the Irish Open than in any other European Tour event.

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