Genworth Stats Pack - The Irish Open Preview

Rory McIlroy has competed in this event on 6 previous occasions (with a best of 7th in 2008) but he arrives in average form considering his very high standards. Looking at his Genworth Statistics since the beginning of March, the 24 year old golfer from Northern Ireland ranks quite low for Greens in Regulation, Par 3 Scoring and Par 4 Scoring, but they are as a result of an extremely difficult schedule of events. Everything considered Rory does seem to be holing putts and playing the Par 5 holes pretty well. The current World Number Two is due a big performance in the Irish Open and starts as the tournament favourite.

Graeme McDowell has competed in this event on 11 previous occasions with a best of 11th in 2004, so like Rory he is due a big performance. Looking at his Genworth Statistics since the beginning of March, they are heavily distorted by his schedule of events and do not reflect how the 33 year old golfer from Northern Ireland has performed. Graeme has already achieved a 3rd place finish in the WGC Cadillac Championship in March, plus he has finished 1st and 5th in the two Match Play events, resulting in a current ranking of 3rd on the Race to Dubai. In terms of strategy, his normally straight driving will definitely help over the Carton House course this week.

Padraig Harrington has competed in this event on 17 previous occasions, winning in 2007 at Adare Manor. He too has played a difficult schedule of events which are distorting his Genworth Statistics rankings since the beginning of March, when in fact the 41 year old Irish golfer has actually achieved two top 10’s and only missed one cut so far this year in Europe. Padraig is driving the ball long so if his accuracy from the tee is sharp then he may go well.

Thomas Björn has competed in this event on 10 previous occasions, winning the last time it was played here at Carton House in 2006. Add the fact that the 42 year old Great Dane arrives in fantastic form off the back of 4th / 2nd / 2nd finishes in his last three events and you have a player brimming with confidence. His Genworth Statistics since the beginning of March show no real weaknesses. Thomas is driving the ball straight, hitting lots of greens and putting superbly.

Mikko Ilonen has competed in this event on 7 previous occasions (with a best of 10th last year) and he arrives off the back of a win at the Nordea Masters (plus two other runner up finishes in recent tournaments). Looking at his Genworth Statistics since the beginning of March, the 33 year old golfer from Finland ranks 1st for Stroke Average (which says it all), plus he ranks 1st for Putts per GIR and 2nd for both Putts per Round and 1 Putts per Round, and he is making more Birdies per Round than any other player.

Joost Luiten has competed in this event on 3 previous occasions with a best of 9th in 2010. The 27 year old golfer from The Netherlands is producing good results week on week (including a win in Austria recently), due mainly to some incredible consistency in his long game. Looking at his Genworth Statistics since the beginning of March, Joost ranks 10th for Driving Accuracy, 11th for Greens in Regulation and 5th for overall Stroke Average.

Jamie Donaldson has competed in this event on 9 previous occasions and arrives in steady form as the defending champion. Looking at his Genworth Statistics since the beginning of March, the 37 year old golfer from Wales seems to rank quite low in a number of categories, but they are as a result of a difficult schedule of events. He is actually playing better than that, confirmed by impressive Par 3 Scoring and an excellent touch on and around the greens.

Francesco Molinari has competed in this event on 7 previous occasions with a best of 7th in 2007. Looking at his Genworth Statistics since the beginning of March, the 30 year old Italian golfer ranks 14th for Driving Accuracy and 47th for Greens in Regulation, plus his Par 3 Scoring is currently under Par at 2.99 (always a good sign). Francesco’s form has not been quite so good this season compared to 2012 (when he did not miss a single cut), but his usually consistent tee to green play should serve him well this week.

Living nearby and being attached to the Carton House course, Shane Lowry will receive lots of support this week, but there will also be much expectation on him, especially after winning this event as an amateur in 2009. The 26 year old Irish talent is lightly raced on the European Tour since the beginning of March, but he is the type of golfer that can shoot the lights out at any time, often when least expected.

Peter Uihlein competes in this event for the first time and arrives off the back of a string of good results (including a win recently in Madeira). Looking at his Genworth Statistics since the beginning of March, the long hitting 23 year old rising star from the United States is scoring well across the different hole types (being the Par 3’s / Par 4’s / Par 5’s), plus he is converting lots of birdies and making few mistakes. The Carton House course may suit Peter’s game this week and we highlight him as a possible dark horse.