England’s David Howell shows off some old magic and Rock is rocked by disqualification

The 3 Irish Open is being led by an unexpected name, after David Howell rekindled some of the old glory days by shooting a round of 64 to lead the way at the close of the first round at the Killarney Golf and Fishing Club. It has been quite a large fall from grace for the player who once graced the European Ryder Cup team, as he is languishing down at nearly 500 in the world rankings, and that is after being a top ten player a few years ago. He produced a great round of five birdies and an eagle, to put in the round of -7 under, one shot clear at the top of the leader board. Still, it was a long way short of the 59 that US Open Champion Graeme McDowell predicted could happen this week at the Irish Open, but there were a host of good scores posted none the less. Ireland’s top performer on the day was neither McDowell (who finished just -1 under), Padraig Harrington or tournament favourite Rory McIlroy, but the little mentioned Damien McGrane who shot a nice round of -6 under along with Kiwi Richard Green. McGrane, who is down at 168th in the world rankings, also had a bogey free round like Howell, to play his way into contention. McGrane has one European tour title to his name, coming in 2008 at the Volvo China Open.

Out of nine players T3 for the tournament, there are couple of names which stand out, who could go on to build upon a solid first round. The first is Northern Ireland star Darren Clarke, who was recently named one of Colin Montgomerie’s vice captains for the Ryder Cup this year. Clarke, who finished second recently at the Barclays Scottish Open, hit a bogey free -5 under par for the first round, along with Scotland’s Paul Lawrie who had more of a mixed day. Lawrie picked up three pairs of birdies along the way but also weighed in with two bogeys on the sixth and notably the 18th which slowed his progress down a little bit. Lawrie, who has five tour wins to his name through his career, but is currently ranked down in the 200’s hasn’t made much of an impression this year, with only two sixth place finishes on tour. Things are still tightly packed and things should start stretching out on day two. There really was not much to write home about, nothing being too outstanding on the day of golf, just the story of England’s Howell rediscovering some of that old magic. Is he worth backing in a bet? Well maybe as a long punt still, as he himself admits he hasn’t been playing well. The fact that he’s still back in the sports betting says a lot.

Perhaps the biggest story of the day was England’s Robert Rock who hit a six under par, but was disqualified after signing and incorrect score card. Rock was leading at the time, and the very same thing happened to Francesco Molinari at the event last year when he was leading. Rock, who lost in a play-off last year at the Irish to Open, but walked off with the prize money as winner Shane Lowry was still an amateur, was devastated by blamed himself for mixing up scores on two holes. It was a shame and a harsh way to go out after such a good round.

Tournament favourite Rory McIlroy got off to a flyer, hitting four birdies through the first seven holes and looking primed to take a grip on the Irish Open right from the off. Things went a little pear shaped though a he bogeyed the eighth, ninth, eleventh and thirteenth (but birdied the 10th) to drag him back. He will be a bit disappointed with that, but he is good enough to overcome that and it’s not as if he is far off the lead, just two shots so far, so he is still worth backing in the golf betting. As is Italian Francesco Molinari who had put in a solid round, and only two bogey’s on the back nine spoilt his day a little bit. Looked pretty consistent with his stroke play and another solid round would keep him in contention. Former Irish Open winner Padraig Harrington is still worth a punt, and he had a bogey free round to finish at -3 under. He will be pretty happy with that, and it gives him a solid base to move up the board on day two, and safely make the cut without any fuss and bother. He should be around in the hunt in the final two days, is well worth backing, especially now as he’s down the leader board a bit. But three shots back in an Open really isn’t much to get panicked about.

Betting tip: Well worth looking down the top ten in betting at the moment, as there are good players in there. Harrington for example represents some great odds, and Ross Fisher in particular who is at -2 under makes even better value. Darren Clarke is a great performer and should be buoyed by the confidence placed in him by Colin Montgomerie for the Ryder Cup. McIlroy still may prove to be the man to chase, but there is a very good pack of players chasing him.

3 Irish Open Outright Odds

Rory McIlroy: 7/2 at Bet365
Damien McGrane: 14/1 at SkyBet
Francesco Molinari: 14/1 at Boylesports
Darren Clarke: 14/1 at BetFred
Richard Green: 16/1 at Stan James
Padraig Harrington: 18/1 at BetFred
David Howell: 25/1 at SportingBet
Ross Fisher: 28/1 at Stan James
Graeme McDowell: 28/1 at Bwin

Strong Irish presence to dominate leader-board?

The Irish Open is the golf focus for the week on the European Tour this Bank Holiday weekend, as Europe’s best go toe to toe. There is actually a good strong Irish contingent going for glory at the Killarney Golf and Fishing Club. There is a fair chance that there will be another Irish Winner here when you look down the list of front runners. The sheer presence of Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Padraig Harrington will ensure that there is a great atmosphere at the tournament. Last year’s Irish Open was a thriller which went down to the wire in a sudden death play off. Four exciting days of golf are expected and here we cast an eye over the front runners in the golf betting for the big event.

Rory McIlroy: 6/1 at Bet365
He is favourite to win here, and that tag as tournament favourite won’t bother the young lad one iota. A genuine world talent, and should have been in with a chance of winning The Open recently at St Andrews until a horrible second round in the wind and rain destroyed the whole event for him. McIlroy is the top ranked player at the event, and with two Irish winners in the last three years there will plenty of backers for him. Has yet to pick up a title this year on the European Tour, but he has been getting better and better in form over the last month or so. Has bags of talent, and he will have learnt a big lesson about controlling his emotions and focusing on the game at St Andrews. No reason he can’t walk out of this one a winner.

Justin Rose: 14/1 at SkyBet
The Englishman is enjoying something of a great season. He went into The Open with a strong backing from a lot of golf experts thinking that his form would really put him into contention. It didn’t as it happened and he missed the cut, but after Rose had won back to back tournaments in America, he elevated his status once again. He has four European Tour Wins to his name in his career, and doesn’t put in an appearance in Britain too much on the Tour, so he must fancy his chances here. It’s the first time since 2002 he has played at the Irish Open, but with a bundle of World Ranking Points on offer at the tournament, Rose could back up his two US PGA Tour wins by securing an automatic place in this year’s Ryder Cup team with a good tournament here.

Graeme McDowell: 14/1 at SportingBet
Was mightily impressed with the way he handled himself at The Open at St Andrews, after going into the tournament with a lot of unexpected hype surrounding him. The Irishman won the US Open quite unexpectedly and naturally that put a lot of new pressure upon him. Held everything together for a steady -3 under par at the end of the tournament, and like many others, had one sticky round which hampered him. He has six European Tour titles to his name, and with wins at the US Open and the Celtic Manor Wales Open, he has fired up to 11th in the Official World Of Golf Rankings. In good form and should be in the hunt for yet some more accolades. European Player of the Month, and hard to argue with that. Believes that the record round of 59 for a European Tour event could go here. Be something if it was him, but more likely it would come from McIlroy.

Padraig Harrington: 18/1 at Coral
Won the event in 2007 and will be another strong Irish challenger for the honours. One of the favourites to step out onto the golf course wherever he goes, he will be looking to pick up his first win of the year here. His best finish this year on the European Tour was a third place at the WGC – CA Championship, and he is ranked 32 on the Tour. He is probably a bit better than that, and a fan favourite. Probably hasn’t quite got his driving accuracy where he wants it at the moment, but his averages are down a little bit. When it comes to Harrington, you can throw the form book out of the window, as he is a star who can walk his way to titles. Well worth a serious punt here at the Irish Open. He is on a bit of a drought at the moment, not having lifted a title since winning the US PGA Championship in 2008, but he has been hitting the top ten finishes. This is just the type of big event in the right place at the right time which could see him tick all the right boxes.

Ross Fisher: 20/1 at Paddy Power
A little bit up and down in his form, but finished at -1 under at The Open. Has every chance at the Irish Open, but he will just need to find a little more consistency in his top form. His stroke average is a little high, suggesting that he won’t be close to the finish, but is a steady player once he gets into his groove. An outside punt, but worth considering if he has a couple of decent opening rounds. He’ll be reliant on a confidence game.

Francesco Molinari: 20/1 at Stan James
The Italian had a big blip at The Open where he failed to make the cut after a bad second round. That was a little unexpected as going into the tournament, he had secured himself a second place and then a fourth place finish in his previous two tournaments. Has only one European Tour win to his name, but ranked 14th on the Tour. Playing some good averages at the moment, but looking to recreate the kind of driving accuracy which he had last year. Like Fisher, needs some solid rounds to build upon, but capable of threatening the top of the leader board if he gets going.

Shane Lowry: 45/1 at BetFred
The defending champion of the Irish Open, winning the tournament as an amateur and didn’t win any Tour money for it. Never really threatened to back up that win with anything on his first full season of the European Tour, but is finding his feet a little more in 2010. His average stroke play really hasn’t changed much and at 71.02 it suggests that he’ll need something special again to retain his crown.

Mathematically. Wow, that’s a big word with which to start an article. I suspect it’s a personal best. Sorry, where was I? Oh,yes! Mathematically, only three men can prevent Rory McIlroy from winning the European Order Of Merit on the new Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai this week. The 20-year-old is in pole position to win the Race To Dubai, as the Order Of Merit has been re-branded, following a second to Frenchman Gregory Bourdy at the Hong Kong Open in Fanling, overtaking Lee Westwood, who had a bit of a nightmare in the former colony. Also suffering disappointment last week was Geoff Ogilvy, who failed to make an impact at the JBWere Masters in his native Australia so, with Paul Casey ruled out with injury, that leaves only Westwood, Germany’s Martin Kaymer and Ross Fisher (who did us a massive favour in the World Matchplay) as potential challengers to McIlroy’s claims to be European number one. The young Ulsterman, in only his second season on the European Tour, is a general 1-2 to collect enough prize money to ensure he finishes ahead of the bunch and a general 9-1 to end the year on a high by winning the Dubai World Championship itself. But nerves are surely going to play a part here. Westwood (a general 16-1) is vastly more experienced and, though his form has tailed off a little in recent weeks, he’ll be trying to exert maximum pressure on McIlroy with the big four, in the opening rounds at least, set to be out on the course at the same time. Kaymer must be cursing the fact (I nearly wrote kicking himself) that he missed two months of the season having broken toes in a karting accident but a win in Dubai, for which he is a general 14-1 chance, would still guarantee him top spot and his fate is still in his own hands, unlike Fisher (a general 20-1) who could still miss out if McIlroy or Westwood were to finish in the frame. And of course, there are almost 60 of the world’s best players out to spoil the party. Ernie Els has a fantastic record in Dubai and is back in form. At a general 16-1 he might be worth a saver, while Padraig Harrington is reported to have been thoroughly refreshed by a family holiday and will have some takers at a general 18-1. Trying to end the year with a bang, though, this columnist will be relying on Justin Rose. The Englishman has had a bit of an up and down season, dividing his time between Europe and America, but has been in a rich vein of form over the last eight weeks, recording under par 72-hole scores in every tournament he’s contested in that time, including a 17 under to tie for fourth place in last week’s Children’s Miracle Network Classic in Florida. Rose is another who likes the desert (he was second in the Dubai Desert Classic back in February) so I’ll be having an interest at 30-1 with boylesports.