The DP World Tour heads to Royal County Down Golf Club this week for the Irish Open and most of the attention will fall upon Rory McIlroy, who attempts to win the tournament for the first time since his K Club triumph in 2016.
However, less than two weeks after the PGA Tour Championship, there could be value elsewhere as the players tackle a tough links layout where just five players finished under the par the last time the tournament was hosted there nine years ago.
talkSPORT BET welcome offer – Get £20 in free bets*
Consistent Wiesberger should be a factor
One of those five players who broke par at Royal County Down in 2015 was Bernd Wiesberger, who lost in a three-man playoff to Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen, and there have been signs that the Austrian is on the verge of claiming a ninth DP World Tour triumph.
Wiesberger returned to the European circuit this year after making the move to LIV Golf and has been solid for most of the campaign, finishing in the top 25 in 12 of his 16 outings.
He is an excellent tee-to-green operator and should again flourish in what could be tough conditions and he can also draw upon his second place behind Jon Rahm in the 2019 edition at Lahinch, when he went on to win the Scottish Open the following week.
Wiesberger is becoming a factor in every DPWT tournament he plays in and there looks a strong chance that he will make a big impression again.
Fox looks a dangerous animal
September is a big month for New Zealand’s Ryan Fox as he will head to Wentworth next week to defend his BMW PGA Championship, one of the biggest events on the DPWT calendar.
Fox has an excellent record in this tournament having finished third last year at the K Club. He was second in 2022 and 2018 and also third in 2017, while his runner-up finish in October’s Alfred Dunhill Links is another feather in his cap.
He has not quite made the Stateside impression he would have liked on the PGA Tour this year, but he knows how to tackle this sort of test and can flourish again this week.
Fitzpatrick is emerging from the shadows
Alex Fitzpatrick is making strides at this level and heads to Ireland in excellent form having finished sixth at the Czech Masters, 12th at the British Masters and sixth last week in the Swiss Alps at the European Masters.
He showed what he can do on a links layout when he was 17th at last year’s Open Championship at Hoylake and it is worth chancing that he can make another big impression this week.
talkSPORT BET welcome offer – Get £20 in free bets*
*18+ New customers only. Opt in & bet £10+ via mobile on any sports at 2.00+ odds within 7 days. No Cash out. Get 4x £5 Free Bets on selected markets. Free bets expire in 7 days. Card payments & Apple Pay only. T&Cs apply, see below. GambleAware.org | Please gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to www.gamstop.co.uk to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites.
Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to talkSPORT. 18+. T&Cs apply. Gambleaware.org
