Punters latch onto Lowry for Irish Open success

Rory McIlroy has been installed as the 11/2 favourite by BoyleSports ahead of this week’s Irish Open at Royal County Down, but Shane Lowry is also proving very popular with punters.

The Hollywood native secured victory on Irish soil in 2016 when capturing the Irish Open at the K Club, but he did miss the cut when the jewel of the Irish golfing calendar was last played at Royal County Down in 2015.

Two victories on tour this calendar year as well as five top-5 finishes including at the Olympics ensured the world number three continued in fine form, but just one top-20 finish in his last five appearances has punters looking elsewhere, with Lowry heading the chasing pack.

Lowry is set to tee it up on Thursday as the 11/1 second favourite to win the tournament for a second time after his meteoric rise to stardom when winning a play-off in 2009 at County Louth Golf Club.

A victory alongside McIlroy at the Zurich Classic and eight top-10 finishes this year has meant it’s been a fruitful one for the Clara man as he takes to the greens of Royal County Down with a red-hot putter having gone 359 consecutive holes without a three-putt.

With Lowry the early market mover having been backed into 11/1 from 14/1, Robert McIntyre (16/1) has also seen support to bolster his Scottish Open win with success on Irish soil while Seamus Power (25/1) and Tom McKibbin (33/1) are also very much in the running for the home contingent.

Brian O’Keeffe, spokesperson for BoyleSports, said: “It’s already been a brilliant year for Shane Lowry and plenty of punters fancy the Offaly man to double his tally in the Irish Open after that famous win as an amateur in Baltray in 2009.”

Key Terms:

18+. Applies to bets placed on the golf outright early payout market. Get paid out as a winner if your selection is the sole leader at the end of round 3, even if your selection does not go on to win the competition. Applies to Singles & Multiples. T&Cs apply.