-
Parkland course with plenty of sand and water
-
Accurate Hoge 50/151.00 must not be overlooked
-
In-form Syme 80/181.00 could claim another e/w finish
Tournament Notes
• With the Ryder Cup starting later this month, and the BMW-sponsored PGA Championship taking place at Wentworth next week, the 68th Irish Open has attracted a reasonable field;
• Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Billy Horschel are just three of the big names taking part in County Kildare this week;
• The K-Club's most recent appearance on the DP World Tour calendar came in 2016, when hosting Ireland's national open. It was a tournament won by Rory McIlroy;
• Despite being one of Ireland's most famous golfing venues, The K-Club is still relatively young, opened in July 1991;
• It made its European Tour debut in 1995 and 11 years later became the first Irish venue to stage the Ryder Cup.
Course Notes
• The K-Club's famous North Course was designed by one of golf's greatest-ever players, Arnold Palmer;
• This will be the 12th time that the DP World Tour has visited the North Course, with the K-Club's South Course staging three such tournaments too;
• It is a parkland layout, where the majority of putting surfaces slope from front-to-back;
• A well-bunkered venue with tree-lined fairways and a number of subtle dog-legs;
• It is a relatively long course, with water in play on 13 holes.
Latest betting for this week's Horizon Irish Open
DP World Tour: Consistency Chart
Most Times Within Eight Shots of Champion (Since Jan 1st, 2023)
No of Times
11: Alexander Bjork
8: Gavin Green
8: Adrian Meronk
7: Grant Forrest
7: Thorbjorn Olesen
7: Yannik Paul
7: Jordan Smith
6: Jorge Campillo
6: Ewen Ferguson
6: Marcus Helligkilde
6: Ryo Hisatsune
6: Romain Langasque
For DP World Tour events only;
Only those entered this week are included in table
Irish Open Top Tips: Five To Watch
Gavin Green 100/1101.00: Five top-10s this year, including a tie-for-eighth in Switzerland on Sunday. Currently leads the Putts per Green category on the DP World Tour.
Tyrrell Hatton 11/112.00: Tied-fifth at the K-Club seven years ago and will be part of Europe's Ryder Cup team in Italy.
Tom Hoge 50/151.00: Survived through to the second phase of the recent FedEx Cup Play-Offs, but failed to reach East Lake. Is currently ranked fifth in the Strokes Gained: Approach the Green category on the PGA Tour.
Rory McIlroy 7/24.50: Returns to the venue where he won the Irish Open in 2016. The world No 2 will be tough to stop if he hits the ground running on Thursday.
Connor Syme 80/181.00: His season has suddenly taken an upturn thanks to a brace of top-five finishes these past two weeks. Stood on the podium Sunday and is a career-high No 167 in the world.
MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut
Note: List Contains Leading Reserves