Irish Open 2024 First-Round Leader Tips: Picks from 50/1 to 90/1

• 50/151.00 Thriston Lawrence shone at Royal Troon and is still in fine form

• 75/176.00 Alex Fitzpatrick is in fine nick and has good FRL form

• 90/191.00 Eddie Pepperell is a former runner-up at Royal County Down

Weather forecast for Thursday

It looks the sort of mixed conditions that links lovers will be all too familiar with as sun, cloud and rain all pop up in the forecast throughout the day.

Wind speeds are around 10mph but could gust around 25mph and even higher. Most importantly they're like that in both morning and afternoon so it's hard to see any bias although, again in typical linksland style, winds could calm a little late in the day.

Thriston Lawrence @ 50/151.00

If we didn't particularly associate Thriston Lawrence with links golf, he put that right earlier this summer when challenging for glory in the Open at Royal Troon.

The South African shot a 65 to move into second place with a round to go and eventually finished fourth.

Since then he's scored a wire-to-wire win in a home South African Tour event, an opening 62 giving him the first-round lead, and finished runner-up in the British Masters where he was third after day one thanks to a 68.

Another 62 secured him the first-round lead at the Joburg Open last November so he's capable of going very low off the bat.

The final piece of the jigsaw is that he's got a real love for this event having finished third in the last two editions. In in the first, at Mount Juliet, he posted a Thursday 66.

Lawrence looks a good bet at 50s to make an impression from his 12.50 tee-time.

Alex Fitzpatrick @ 75/176.00

Alex Fitzpatrick showed his links chops when outscoring brother Matt and finishing 12th in the 2023 Open at Royal Liverpool.

Still playing on the second tier at the time, he followed that up by winning the British Challenge by five shots at St Mellion in Cornwall a few weeks later.

He tends to play well in clusters and Fitzpatrick is in one now after a run of 6-12-6 on the DP World Tour, those good finishes achieved at the Czech Masters, British Masters and European Masters.

Last week he was the first-round leader in Crans after a 63 in round one, that tally two strokes better than the 65 with which he'd started the Scottish Open on the links of the Renaissance Club in July.

Finally, Fitzpatrick also has good memories of his one start in Northern Ireland. That was a runners-up finish in the ISPS Handa World Invitational last summer, a result fuelled by a 66 that put him third after the opening lap.

A morning starter at 07.30 from the 10th, he can give us a run at 75/176.00.

Eddie Pepperell @ 90/191.00

To close, I'll have a punt on Eddie Pepperell, who hits off from the 1st at 13.40.

Most in the field haven't played Royal County Down competitively but Pepperell has and he'll carry some great memories after finishing second there when it last staged this event in 2015.

He returned to Northern Ireland lear year and was third in the ISPS Handa World Invitational.

Also fourth and eighth in this event when it's been held south of the border, Pepperell is hinting at some better form again.

Although eventual finishes of 42nd and 39th in the Danish Golf Championship and European Masters look modest, he was second and eighth respectively at the halfway point of those events.

If he's playing his best stuff before the cut, the links lover - "The Open is the best tournament in golf" - is worth a look in this market at 90s.

Now read Dave Tindall on the Procore Championship