The Bullseye – The Irish Open

This week we head to Ireland for the annual Irish Open, hosted by Rory McIlroy. The host had a fairly poor record in this event until he won a couple years ago, so that curse has been lifted. This is another massive event in Europe, as it is an Open Championship tune-up (and qualifier), and there are extra Ryder Cup points on the line. Besides Rory, this field is loaded with studs like Jon Rahm, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Matthew Fitzpatrick, and Thomas Pieters.

Ballyliffin is the host course this week, a new venue for this event which is on a course rotation. From everything I’ve read, it’s one of the truest and most difficult links courses in all of Ireland. The course is a par-72 measuring just under 7,500 yards, but it will definitely play shorter due to firm and fast conditions. Speaking of conditions, links golf is all about weather. The course’s main defense in the wind, so that’ll determine the scoring conditions this week. There are only three par-3s and three par-5s on the course, so it’ll be a lot of par-4s for the players. Links golf is all about accuracy and patience, as the course is lined with long, thick rough and is full of bunkers. Typically, I target the methodical plodders on links-style courses, as those are typically the players who have performed well on links courses in the past. Think more Soren Kjeldsen, and less Thomas Pieters. With that being said, there’s no way I’m fading Rory or Rahm this week!

Links golf is all about safety and positioning, so I’m going to focus on approach shots. You can factor in off-the-tee as well, because if conditions are easy players will be able to overpower this track. With the addition of European Tour strokes gained stats, we have some extra data to help us find guys who have been playing well of late. Statistically, here’s what I’m targeting at the Irish Open:

• Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green
• Strokes Gained Approach
• Greens in Regulation
• Strokes Gained Off-the-Tee

And now on to the picks!

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