Irish Open: The Punter's Preview

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Irish Open tournament history

The Irish Open has had a bit of a chequered history. There have been spells when the event wasn't played at all and there were even a few years in the 1970s when it was known as the Carroll's International, but it's been an ever-present on the DP World Tour since 1974.

It's a nomadic event and this year we're taking in a brand-new venue, the Trump International Golf Links, for the 71^st edition.

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Venue

Trump International Golf Links & Hotel, Doonbeg, County Clare, Ireland.

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Course details

Par 72, 7,026 yards

Opening in 2002, and originally known as Doonbeg Golf Club, Trump International was designed by Greg Norman, who created the course with a "least disturbance" philosophy.

Bought by Donald Trump in 2014 and positioned in a two and half mile stretch of the Doughmore Bay, it's a traditional out-and-in links layout framed by large natural dunes, with views of the Atlantic Ocen on 16 of the 18 holes.

The venue was renamed after Trump's purchase and Martin Hawtree was commissioned to redesign several holes, improving playability while preserving the dunes' character.

The rough is native/fescue grass and the fairways and greens are bentgrass.

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Weather forecast

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TV coverage

Live on Sky Sports all four days, starting at 13:30 on Thursday and 9:30 on Friday.

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Last 10 winners with pre-event Betfair Exchange prices

2025 - Rory McIlroy -16 5.49/2
2024 - Rasmus Hojgaard -9 55.054/1
2023 - Vincent Norrman -14 60.059/1
2022 - Adrian Meronk -20 40.039/1
2021 - Lucas Herbert -19 55.054/1
2020 - John Catlin -10 65.064/1
2019 - Jon Rahm -16 10.09/1
2018 - Russell Knox -14 (playoff) 28.027/1
2017 - Jon Rahm -24 17.533/2
2016 - Rory McIlroy -12 5.49/2

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Look to previous links events for clues

Links golf is quite unique and not everyone takes to it.

The Open Championship is always staged on a links layout, and the Scottish Open has been staged at various links courses since 2011 so that's an obvious place to start.

This event switches between links and parkland tracks, but it's been played on a links layout recently in 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2024 and there's also the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship to consider but our best recent event to look at is last month's Nexo Championship, won by Scott Jamieson.

The Nexo was staged at the Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire which is Martin Hawtree design with bengrass greens so anyone that played well there may well enjoy it here too.

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Past champs command plenty of respect

Rory McIlroy is going to be very well-fancied this week.

He first won the event a decade ago and he's looking to defend the title this week and to win it for a third time. And he could easily have been in search of his fourth or fifth win in the event given he's traded at odds-on in-running in each of the last four editions.

The Irish Open has produced a number of high-class multiple winners including Jon Rahm, who won the title in 2017 and 2019, at two different links tracks - Portstewart and Lahinch.

In total, 12 players have won the Irish Open on more than one occasion and Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Seve Ballesteros, and Colin Montgomerie have all won the title three times.

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Will Rory go odds-on for a fourth year running?

Rory McIlroy teed it up at the K Club 10 years ago with extremely disappointing event form figures reading MC-7-50-35-34-10-MC-MC-MC but he was never outside the top three places after each round before sealing the deal with this incredible and memorable approach shot on the 72^nd hole.

The best 5-wood you'll see today @McIlroyRory from 252 yards on the way to winning his home Open in 2016.#DDFIrishOpen #TourArchive pic.twitter.com/3n6fapT3EQ

-- DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) June 29, 2021

He missed the cut when defending, finished 28^th a year later, and he was only 59^th in his next appearance, in 2021, but he was back in-the-mix when the event returned to the K Club three years ago and he should have won at Royal County Down in 2024 before he won the tournament for a second time at the K Club last year.

Although he ended the week in a tie for 16^th place, McIlroy was matched at 1.9110/11 when he hit the front at the K Club after two holes of the final round three years ago but he lost the plot completely when they returned to the course after a weather delay.

It was a strange finish and in addition to trading at odds-on in the outright market, he was matched at a low of 1.171/6 to finish inside the top five and some poor soul backed him at 1.011/100 to finish inside the top 10.

He didn't do an awful lot wrong at Royal County Down two years ago, where he hit a low of 1.211/5 before Rasmus Hojgaard birdied four of the last five holes to beat him by one, so after he won the event last year, it will be interesting to see if he trades at odds-on for a fourth year in-a-row.

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