We're in Northern Ireland this week for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation and on site at the stunning Royal County Down. The links-style course set between the Mourne hills and Irish Sea provides players with a unique challenge. Our stats guru has selected these five players he thinks you should add to yourFantasy Race To Dubaiteam this week.
Shane Lowry
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Clara native Shane Lowry will forever hold a special bond with the Irish Open, the tournament having provided the setting for one of the most memorable breakthroughs in recent memorysix years ago. At County Louth in 2009, then-amateur Lowry fired a sublime 62 in the second round en route to remarkable play-off triumph against Robert Rock. The 28 year old will be hoping to add another chapter to that story this week at Royal County Down and arrives off the back of another impressive performance at the flagship BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, where he finished tied sixth 12 months after coming second to Rory McIlroy. With the fast, crowned greens at County Down and some devilish bunkering, Lowry will be calling on the short-game prowess which saw him rank fifth in Putts per GiR last season as he bids to script another unforgettable Irish Open yarn this week.
Marc Warren
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Marc Warren is known as bit of a links specialist and arrives in good form. The 2014 Made In Denmark champion finished tied 18th last week in Wentworth, his sixth consecutive top 25 finish on The European Tour. Look out for Warren’s hot putter at Royal County Down - the Scot ranks second in Putts per Green in Regulation this season (1.66).
Alex Noren
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It’s been a wild few days for Alex Noren. Having finished in the top ten at the BMW PGA Championship on Sunday, the Swede was off to nearby Walton Heath on Monday morning for the US Open Qualifier. With 15 holes to go Noren was well out of contention, but eight birdies, six pars and one eagle later he had earned a spot at the second Major of the year. Having missed most of last season with a wrist injury, Noren has made the cut in all ten of his European Tour starts this term.
Tommy Fleetwood
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A model of consistency so far in The 2015 Race to Dubai, where he currently ranks 13th, Tommy Fleetwood has already banked three-quarters of a million euros in 12 starts this season – with a decent chunk of that coming last week at the BMW PGA Championship. The Englishman’s albatross at the fourth hole on Saturday – and his subsequent elated reaction – provided one of the highlights of the week and helped earn him a tied sixth finish despite a level par 72 on the final day. Having cut his teeth on the windswept links of Southport's coast as a youngster, Fleetwood is no stranger to the rugged test that Royal County Down will provide this week, as evidenced by three top five finishes at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in the last four years.
Chris Wood
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Having arrived at Royal County Down in his new BMW i8, Chris Wood is still smiling from hishole-in-one last week at Wentworth. The Englishman’s fourth place finish was his second top five in five starts on The European Tour, having returned from a hand injury in March. He was the only player in the field who ranked inside the top five in both Driving Distance and Putts Per Round, a good combination for links golf.
So there you go, there are our picks. Time to make yours? Head over to theFantasy Race To Dubai homepageto select your line-up before the first round on Thursday.
