Niall Lyons has six selections covering this week's Irish Open at the K Club.
Irish Open
Looking back at the history of the European Open while it was held here there are plenty of things to digest.
The main one being is that this course always brought the cream of the game to the top. Langer (Masters winner), Clarke (Open winner), Michael Campbell (US Open winner) all won here at the K Club in the 90s and 00s.
Taking a look at who competed throws up the same info. Constantino Rocca who played with Woods in the final group of the 97 Masters contended here almost every single year.
He also has a runner up finish at the Open. Harrington (Triple major winner) has a couple of places to his name at the K Club, as do Olazabal and Goosen who are both double majors winners also.
Thomas Bjorn and Lee Westwood (twice winner here) are no strangers to pressure in major championships either.
A look back to 2005 and you'll see Kenneth Ferrie winning, a name plenty may forget, but even he managed a 6th placed finish in the 2006 US Open.
It's a strong list of winners and contenders and although I plan to leave plenty of the biggest names off the staking plan, it could be hard to stop them.
Below is a look at the 2023 edition of this competition, when it was last held at the K Club.
Irish Open Tips
- 1.5pts each-way T.Detry 50/1 (1/5 8) Betfred
- 1.25pts each-way L.Canter 55/1 (1/5 8) Betfred, Bet365
- 1pt each-way G.Forrest 75/1 (1/5 8) Bet365
- 1pt each-way A.Meronk 70/1 (1/5 8) Bet365
- 1pt each-way N.Norgaard 50/1 (1/5 8) Bet365
- 1pt each-way M.Lindberg 300/1 (1/5 8) Bet365
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Thomas Detry at 50/1 (Eight Places)
The overwhelming evidence came to the fore once again last week where those dropping from the PGA Tour dominated proceedings.
Noren won at the Belfry then Lawrence obliged last week with the South African having shown very little in the way of form this last couple of months.
Part of his performance can be put down to a great record around Crans, but you simply can not underestimate the drop in grade on this tour.
Now there are plenty making the step down this week and the field is fairly strong, but I can't help but feel Thomas Detry is a shade overpriced having been in much better form than Lawrence in the lead in.
The Belgian made it all the way to the BMW Championship largely down to his maiden victory at Scottsdale in February.
Nothing quite clicked since then but he wasn't missing the cuts than many others in this field were. Detry has secured his place in the signature events for next year and arrives on the DPWT with a lot less pressure than most.
A handful have one eye on the impending Ryder Cup whilst others are battling for their PGA Tour status courtesy of the Race to Dubai rankings. He was 23rd here back in 2023 when starting the final day one shot ahead of the eventual winner Vincent Norrman in a tightly packed leaderboard.
Detry will want to break his duck on this tour also and chances like this provide the perfect opportunity.
Marco Penge looks like a special talent but 18/1 him versus 50/1 Detry doesn't quite add up to me and I'll take a chance on this PGA Tour stalwart.
Laurie Canter at 66/1 (Eight Places)
I shall not be turning down Laurie Canter around the 66/1 mark here at the K Club. 9 of the top 11 golfers back in 2023 ranked inside the top 18 in strokes gained off the tee for the week and it's there we should concentrate through a blend of length and accuracy with the driver.
Canter has driven the ball really well all year and ranks 4th in strokes gained off the tee for the season. The putter has been the main problem since he won, in fact he didn't even putt all that well when he won in Bahrain in February.
It has been a struggle with that club all year and that continued throughout the Open Championship and his latest outing at the Belfry.
His irons took a dip there also but I wouldn't expect that to last with a busy period upcoming and plenty of big events to have a crack at.
Here we have an excellent driver of the golf ball on a course that demands that type of game.
The gamble is his short game improving but with the field strength increased we get a great reward around the 66/1 should it do so.
1.25pts each-way L.Canter 55/1 (1/5 8) Betfred, Bet365
Grant Forrest at 75/1 (Eight Places)
It was only three weeks ago that Grant Forrest landed his second DPWT victory at the Nexo Championship and the manner in which he did it suggests there could be plenty more to come.
22nd at the Renaissance and then his victory four weeks later certainly does suggest he is better on links, but a missed cut at the British Masters has pushed him to a little too big a price in my opinion.
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His second round of 68 at the Belfry was only beaten by three others on the day so really there has only been one poor round in his last ten.
In 2023 he finished 3rd here at the K Club which means his five jaunts to this tournament read 14-4-CUT-3-5.
Clearly more of an expert on the links tracks but he performs better around these Isles and with recent winning experience he has to be included.
Adrian Meronk at 70/1 (Eight Places)
This course should really suit Rasmus Neergaard Petersen but once again I'm amazed at the place he holds in the market.
Plenty of promise but to date winless on this tour and I can't quite have him at these prices in this strength of field.
I can't quite resist a punt on Adrian Meronk around the 80/1 mark who could easily slip back into gear in this grade. Granted, this isn't a weak DPWT event but there are plenty above him in the market who have achieved nowhere near what he has in his career, let alone in the last seven months.
Meronk kicked off his 2025 LIV campaign with a victory and despite going a little off the boil in places since you can't knock two top 8 finishes in his last three strokeplay LIV events.
The latest of those came in Indianapolis where rounds of 67-63-67 saw him finish 8th , three clear of Dechambeau and 1 ahead of Reed (20/1 this week).
That suggests to me he can't be too far off and four times the price of Reed doesn't quite add up.
He is struggling off the tee a little but he has the distance to compete here and his irons were in solid nick in Indianapolis.
I wasn't quite expecting 80/1 and the price dictates that we have to invest in a former winner of this event.
1pt each-way A.Meronk 70/1 (1/5 8) Bet365
Niklas Norgaard at 50/1 (Eight Places)
Niklas Norgaard produced one of the performances of the year in 2024 to lift the British Masters but a jaunt to the PGA Tour hasn't quite worked out.
He currently sits 161st in the Fedex fall standings and a return to the DPWT looks inevitable. That may be best for him as he could be much more at home in this company.
16th a couple of weeks ago at his home Open in Denmark was a fair effort given that he didn't quite gain as much on the field off the tee than what he usually does.
A missed cut at the Belfry on defence is no disaster and I suspect his driver will be much better aligned to this K Club track.
His iron play has certainly been off for most of the season in the States, but that has been in top company throughout and it's worth noting here that in 2023 numerous golfers made the frame here finishing outside the top 50 in strokes gained approach for the week.
Off the tee is paramount this week and Norgaard showed what he could do in this company at the beginning of the year when he finished alongside McIlroy for 4th in the Dubai Desert and in behind the likes of Canter and Hatton.
1pt each-way N.Norgaard 50/1 (1/5 8) Bet365
Mikael Lindberg at 300/1 (Eight Places)
Mikael Lindberg has had a good number of weeks and looks overpriced to go well here despite the quality increasing gradually with each passing week.
4th in Denmark was compiled with an exceptional long game which could have been much better had he a better week on the greens. It was a similar week on the greens at the British Masters but better again last week at Crans as the putter seems to be heating up.
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That club has been a problem over the summer but better signs lately bodes well for Ireland.
His prowess off the tee should be a big advantage this week at the K Club and he's driven the ball tremendously of late.
He ranked 1st off the tee in Denmark then 10th off the tee at the Belfry and whilst 34th in the same stat last week it must be said the Belfry and Crans wouldn't be the ideal courses for him to open his shoulders.
There is much more chance of that this week and any further improvement on the greens could see him high up the leaderboard at really fancy prices.
1pt each-way M.Lindberg 300/1 (1/5 8) Bet365
