This week, the DP World Tour heads to County Clare on Ireland’s west coast for the Amgen Irish Open 2026, taking place at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg.
This is the first time the course has hosted the Irish Open, and there’s no real form history for us to go on, as there has never been a professional event played here. There have been a few exhibitions over the years, but nothing that any of this year’s field would have competed in. I actually don’t mind that at all, because breaking down a new golf course is one of my favourite things to do!
We’re in for a treat this week with a star-studded field including the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, just to name a few. The prices on those headline players are pretty short, though. I think we have to bite the bullet and take them on, looking for a bit more value elsewhere in the field.
Before I share my squad and best bets for the Amgen Irish Open, let’s dissect the course.
Amgen Irish Open 2026 Course Analysis
Looking at the course this week, we have a 6,838-yard par 70, making it really short course on paper. However, the demands of links golf are so different to parkland golf that short doesn’t necessarily mean easy.
There are a few factors that contribute to that. For a start, although the fairways are wide enough and the first cut isn’t particularly punishing, if you miss wider than that, things can become treacherous very quickly.
You can effectively say goodbye to any control with your next shot. That’s why I don’t think you can just bomb driver everywhere around this golf course. If you miss, you’re in trouble. More often than not, it may actually be better to take fewer clubs, find the fairway and give yourself a clean look at the green with your approach.
Over four days, though, this course becomes seriously demanding, both physically and mentally. The reason is the wind. If it gets up, which I expect it will, you can play the exact same hole on two different days and it can feel like a completely different golf course. One day you could be hitting 3 wood off the tee on a par 4, the next day, you could be hitting driver and a wedge. That means there’s going to be a lot of thinking required around this course.
Then, of course, you need the creativity around the greens, and you need to be a solid putter. You always need a player to putt well over four days if they’re going to contend, because they need to take advantage of the good approach play and hole a few outside chances.
At the same time, putting is an area I’m reluctant to put too much weight on because form with the putter can come and go so quickly. What I’ll be looking for instead, first and foremost, is a player who is solid enough off the tee.
Genuinely, I’m not particularly interested in power this week. Accuracy has to come first, or at least players who are capable of hitting a really controlled tee shot and keeping themselves in position.
From there, I want someone who is good from the fairway and is comfortable flighting their wedges, because controlling trajectory is massive around links courses.
And finally, I want a really good scrambler, someone who can get themselves up and down when they inevitably miss a green. That’s the basic premise of my Amgen Irish Open picks this week.
The squad I’ve come up has been decided on a few different factors, but value is the biggest one. I want to take on the world-class bunch at the top of the market this week. I’m sure two or three of them will be right in the mix come Sunday, but the prices are very short at that end of the market.
So, I’ve tried to find players who offer better value, particularly from a placing and top 10 perspective, with the win obviously becoming a bonus. Value is a major part of the angle this week, but these are also players who fit the mould of the credentials I’m looking for around this golf course.
We’ve had a few frustrating weeks on the trot, so let’s hope we can put that right and get ourselves a nice result this week, because I think we’re in for a seriously entertaining Irish Open. Gamble responsibly, and don’t forget to sign up free here at The Sports Geek.
1. Harry Hall (+3500)
When I first started thinking ahead to the Irish Open a few weeks back, I had Harry Hall in mind for the event, although I didn’t actually know he was playing until the entry list came out. That was very much to my delight though, because I think this is an ideal course for him this week.
This is a short links golf course, wind dependent of course, but I like the fact that he won’t have to come here and try to overpower it, because his driving can be very ropey! Instead, Harry Hall can keep the driver in the bag a bit more than normal this week, and that should mean he hits more fairways.
That is a big positive for Harry because this is where his best game comes from. He has a really good ability to flight down his irons and wedges. That control with your approaches around a links course is a huge attribute to have.
It doesn’t mean it’s easy for him, but we see him week in, week out, flighting his irons down, hitting them high when he needs to, and doing the same with his wedges. That is where he scores from, and it fits nicely at this course.
Hall has attributes in his arsenal this week that a lot of players in the field don’t naturally have. This sort of golf also matches his calm demeanour on the course, and I just think his game suits this course so well.
As mentioned, his driving needs work for sure, but this week there is potential for that driver to be kept in the bag. You’d have to imagine Harry Hall will hit plenty of fairways, and that’s when he becomes very dangerous on shorter courses.
Every player is going to make bogeys this week, it’s links golf and that’s part of the nature of it, but Harry Hall will surely make plenty of birdies too, and that will surely have him competitive. I’d also say he is one of the players with the skills to go really low around here, and you can’t say that about too many in the lineup. He is the number one for me this week.
2. Jordan Smith (+4000)
I haven’t backed Jordan Smith for some time now, but he is one of my favourite golfers, and his golf swing is as pure as it gets.
For links golf, I think his game is really solid too. Smith is a seriously good ball striker, he won’t always need his driver around here, and I think he will really enjoy floating some of his irons and wedges into these greens.
On the flip side, I know Jordan Smith’s game very well, and I do have a few reservations. We have seen him in the deep end of tournaments many times, but his conversion rate is pretty poor.
The problem is that his golf swing is built on pure fundamentals and rhythm. That seems to become an issue in final rounds when he starts to tense up and stops playing his free-flowing game. That is when he is at his best, so his poor final-round form is something we need him to overcome, but he will sooner or later.
From tee to green, he has absolutely no issues in general, and along with those final-round problems, his putting has been an issue for a long time. But that part of his game has clearly been given plenty of attention, because he seems much more comfortable on the greens now.
The length of this course will feel very comfortable for Jordan Smith. He is without doubt one of the best ball strikers in the field, and if he can just finish the tournament well from wherever he is, then he will have a good chance.
That has been an issue previously, but he gets the chance to put it right this week. For how good his game is, he doesn’t win anywhere near enough. This could be the week though, because he ticks all the boxes when he holds it all together.
3. Alex Fitzpatrick (+3000)
I am siding with Alex Fitzpatrick too this week, and his game has been on a steep upward trajectory this season. He won the Hero Indian Open at a really tough course, and he then won the Zurich on the PGA Tour with his brother and Major champion Matt Fitzpatrick.
The game of Alex Fitzpatrick is basically full of control, and coming to these sort of short golf courses should be right up his street really. He showed this in India at what is one of the hardest courses of the season, but his course management was absolutely superb, and you can see his game is moving up a level.
His pedigree of wins amongst the top players in the market isn’t quite on the same page just yet, but he is making moves and looking very comfortable out there on the big stage. These sort of events this season are where he has been playing his best golf. Thinking courses, where he has to manage his way around a course and then get nice and aggressive with the short stuff.
He will definitely go one way or the other this week, but I am willing to side with him whilst his game is in such good form. The flashy prices for him have disappeared, but ultimately, we want potential winners, and Alex Fitzpatrick is certainly in the mix this week.
4. Shaun Norris (+15000)
It’s never a boring tournament when we are following Shaun Norris around the golf course, and I think this is another week to give him a chance.
Two weeks ago, I tipped Shaun Norris to win the Nexo Championship at 66/1. He had a two-shot lead heading into the final round before an early two-shot penalty got his round going the wrong way, and it was never easy to recover from there. He did however, play well for that tournament and still finished tied for 7th.
He is worth considering this week too. Horris has won all over the world, with nine wins on the Japan Tour and two DP World Tour titles, and he has had some big finishes for my followers previously too.
I really like his golf game. He is solid off the tee, but I think his best attribute is his approach play. Norris is really consistent with his irons and can flight the ball up and down, which I like a lot around a links course like this. You’re going to need to control your ball flight and distances around here, particularly if the wind gets up, and I think that is something Shaun is very capable of doing.
His putting for the most part is pretty good too. If he can get himself into position off the tee and continue to hit his irons the way he has been, I think he has the game to score well around here. He is as big as 150/1 in places this week, and yes, we have a bunch of big names in the field, but when you actually match Shaun Norris to this golf course, I think he looks very appealing at the prices.
I’m not asking him to beat Rory, Rahm and all the other big names because I think he’s a better golfer than them. I’m looking at it from a value point of view. I think this course suits what Shaun does well. At 150/1, we don’t need him to be the most likely winner in the field, we just need him to have a really good week and put himself in contention.
Given the price, I think he can score well enough around here to give himself a chance of making the places at a huge price, and if he gets there on Sunday, we know he’s more than capable of winning a golf tournament. He can surprise a few for sure.
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