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
