Amgen Irish Open Tips 2026

With last week’s headline selection Matt Wallace finishing in a tie for 9^th, my knee-jerk reaction was to drop him this week – however the experience of missing Joe Dean’s win by bailing out too early is still fresh in my mind and I’ll give the Englishman another chance this week.

The focus will undoubtedly be on Rory vs Rahm which might just suit the Hillingdon man this week, having gone off as favourite with some firms last week and seen as one of the most likely winners at Crans given his sparkling record there. Whether the organisers get their duel between the two former OWGR number 1s remains to be seen, although with such a strong field lined up behind the pair, taking single-digit prices about either of them holds little appeal despite their obvious chances.

Wallace has got to fall into the category of one of those players who’s capable of standing up to the market leaders if he finds himself in contention, and he’ll certainly want to show what he’s capable of against two seasoned Ryder Cup stars given his own aspirations of making the 2027 team. What he will need to do though – and I’m sure he’s acutely aware of the fact – is tighten up on the short putts which ultimately cost him the chance of winning last week.

On paper Matt gained 0.7 of a stroke overall on the Crans putting surfaces over the four days, however the eye test – or at least the shot tracker stats for the most part – tell a different story. He missed his par putt from 17 inches on his first hole last week before missing his birdie putt from an inch shorter on his last; he also 3-putted the short 11^th on the opening two days. Don’t forget he missed the play-off by 3 shots in the end.

A 9-under weekend was positive though and perhaps he can push on this week with those short misses in the past and a new week to attack, giving him chance to reset mentally and focus on the many positives in his game right now. 6^th for SG Tee to Green last week was an eye-catcher, and with links runner-up finishes at both Hillside and Fairmont St Andrews to his name since 2019, he’ll be more capable than many of taking to Doonbeg on his first attempt.

One of the most likely players to break their maiden before this season is through is Jacob Skov Olesen, and the most likely terrain upon which he might achieve the feat would be links, so this week adds up to a must-back for the Dane in my view.

The Copenhagen resident shared the lead after day 1 at last year’s Open Championship before finishing 3rd at Trump Aberdeen on his next start and 5th later in the year at the Dunhill Links, before finishing 3^rd at Doha in February on another track that tends to carry strong form lines when it comes to links golf.

That effort in Qatar was the start of a strong set of results which has seen the 27 year-old rise to 11^th in the Race to Dubai and currently in possession of the eighth of ten PGA Tour cards for next season, fuelled by a further seven top-10 finishes since Doha. 6^th at the Corales, 9^th in Denmark, 16^th at the Nexo Championship, and 2^nd on his last start at The Belfry are an impressive run of results since not qualifying for the Open Championship, and all that remains in my view is for him to convert one of those opportunities into that breakthrough win.

3^rd at last year’s Nexo Championship is probably the most relevant piece of form on Jacob’s resume with its Trump and Hawtree correlation as well as the topography similarities, and after a week’s rest I can see him running a particularly prominent race here this week.

Of the longer prices who caught my eye, Bernd Wiesberger makes most appeal following his 4^th place finish last week at Crans.

Despite adding a ninth DP World Tour title to his CV earlier this year and sitting in the 6^th automatic spot to qualify for a PGA Tour card next year, the bookies continue to overlook him in the market most weeks and it’s time for us to cash in on that oversight.

Since his China Open win at the end of April, the Austrian has finished 4^th in his home Open and 3^rd in Germany before last week’s effort in the Swiss Alps, and with his long game purring I see no reason to suggest he can’t produce a similar finish here this week, despite the increase in field quality. 9^th for SG off the Tee, 11^th for SG Approach and 7^th for SG Tee to Green last week indicates how well he’s striking the ball right now; couple that with 3^rd for SG Around the Green for the season to date and I think we have a player here who could seriously contend on a tricky links.

Talking of links golf, Wiesberger was 2^nd at both the 2015 and 2019 editions of the Irish Open at Royal County Down and Lahinch respectively, plus he won the Scottish Open at Renaissance the week after that 2019 effort before tying for the first round lead on the same track a couple of months ago.

At a similar price, I’ve also backed Haotong Li who ticked too many boxes for me this week to be ignored.

With four wins at DP World Tour level over the years, we know that the Chinese star is capable of getting over the line – but we also know that his form is extremely streaky. That can make him a difficult player to pin down with missed cuts littering his record – and his recent record at that too – however when he gets it right he can and does oblige at decent odds, and in that respect is worth taking a punt on in my view.

Wins at the 2016 China Open, 2018 Dubai Desert Classic (where he pipped Rory to the title), and the 2022 BMW International Open when he was carrying our money were all impressive in their own right, however his Qatar Masters victory last year is probably the most relevant given the often linksy nature of the course in Doha. Couple that with top-4 finishes at Birkdale in 2017 and Portrush last year and we have a player who could potentially contend in the dunes here at Doonbeg.

That victory in Qatar was the foundation for his promotion season to the PGA Tour for 2026, however after a bright start with 8^th at The American Express and 11^th at Torrey Pines the week after, this year’s been largely a disappointment for the 31 year-old. His return to DP World Tour level when the Playoffs started across the Atlantic might just prove to be a good move as 37^th at The Belfry improved to 18^th last week in Crans, with 12^th for SG Tee to Green and 2^nd for SG Approach coupled with 81.9% of greens hit last week catching the eye. If the putter improves this week – and we know with Haotong how streaky he can be with that club – then don’t be surprised to see him in the mix.

Finally, I’ll complete this week’s team with Shaun Norris who can count himself unlucky with how the Nexo Championship unfolded when we last visited similar surroundings at Trump Aberdeen last month.

In a tie for the lead on Sunday and playing some great golf on the Martin Hawtree design on the east coast of Scotland, the 44 year-old was adjudged a 2-stroke penalty for kicking a divot away from under his stance on the 5^th hole. Understandably that knocked his game for the rest of the day and he ultimately finished 7^th, however his underlying long-game stats of 2^nd for SG Off the Tee, 5^th for SG Approach and 4^th for SG Tee to Green tell us just how well he was playing before the incident, and that makes him dangerous if he can repeat that this week given how strong a putter he is.

62^nd at The Belfry was understandable before taking last week off, however I wonder if we’ll see a refocused Norris this week looking for some kind of redemption on a similar dune-surrounded test this week.

At 15^th on the Race to Dubai, the 44 year-old has plenty to play for as the Tour heads towards its business end, safe in the knowledge that if he can muster a third DP World Tour title this side of November then he’ll be playing PGA Tour golf next season in all likelihood. Shaun notched his 9^th Japan Tour title at the end of May, winning the Mizuno Open by five strokes, and knows that he’s playing good enough golf to test the market leaders here this week.