The 66th edition of the Irish Open starts at Mount Juliet Estate on Thursday. John Catlin will defend his title against a strong field including some of the best golfers in the world.
Who are the favorites?
Tommy Fleetwood
Tommy Fleetwood at the U.S. Open © Getty Images
Tommy Fleetwood will make his first regular European Tour
start since the Saudi International in early February. This season the
Englishman plays mainly on the PGA Tour where has posted two top 10s in his
last nine starts. Fleetwood’s last triumph on the European Tour was in November
2019 at the Nedbank Golf Challenge.
Shane Lowry
Shane Lowry at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open - Previews © Getty Images
The Irishman Shane Lowry is always a favorite when playing in front of local crowds. Lowry won his lone major at Royal Portrush Golf Club located in Portrush in Northern Ireland. The 2019 Open champion was a real sensation in 2009 when he won his national open as an amateur. Since then, Lowry won four more times on the European Tour. Like Fleetwood, Lowry spends most of his time on the PGA Tour and makes rare trips to regular European Tour events.
Rory McIlroy
Dubai Duty Free Irish Open - Previews © Getty Images
Rory McIlroy slowly returns to form, but he is not the consistent contender we have used to see. The Northern Irishman is T7-T18-T49-1 in his last four starts. McIlroy will make his first appearance on a regular European Tour event since the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at the end of January where he finished solo third. The four-time major winner already has a title from the Irish Open. It came in 2016 when the tournament was played at The K Club.
Form-horse
Sam Horsfield
Sam Horsfield at the BMW International Open © Getty Images
Sam Horsfield travels to Ireland with high confidence after another solid week on the European Tour. At last week’s BMW International Open Horsfield finished tied for fifth despite a poor 77 in the second round. This was Horsfield’s fourth top 10 finish since the Magical Kenya Open in March.
Wildcard
Maverick Antcliff
Maverick Antcliff at the Scandinavian Mixed Hosted by Henrik & Annika © Getty Images
Maverick Antcliff has played only 33 European Tour events, but the young Australian already has posted several top results. One of them came at last year’s Irish Open where Antcliff finished tied for third. At the Canary Islands Championship in May Antcliff finished second which is his best European Tour result so far.
Full field and tee times here
