For the 13th time in the last 15 renewals, Rory McIlroy heads back home to play in the Irish Open. Since 2008, Florida-based McIlroy has missed precisely two editions, one of which came during a global pandemic and just weeks after he became a father. His foundation has also hosted four of them.
It's an event in which the distractions of hosting and the vagaries of links golf saw him miss three cuts in succession from 2013, before he produced some of the most memorable shots of his career to win at the K Club in 2016. Then he gave every penny of his winner's cheque to three local charities. Earlier in the week, he had raised more by taking part in 'An Evening With Rory McIlroy and Sir Alex Ferguson'.
Not bad for someone who, according to those who are blinded by their right to not particularly like the finest European golfer of his generation, hasn't done enough for his sport or the island on which he learned to play it.
McIlroy should find that Mount Juliet, which hosts this tournament for the first time since 1995, and tour-level golf for the first time since 2004, is similarly suitable. Designed by Jack Nicklaus, this parkland par 72 is known for its immaculate conditioning, and might be called American in style. That was the view of Chris DiMarco, who played well here when Tiger Woods won the WGC-American Express, and it's hard to escape the notion that a modern, heavily-bunkered and water-laden course is not exactly Irish in the most traditional sense.
Horsfield led after round one, and then conspired to shoot a second-round 77 which effectively ended his chance. In the end, having been fourth in round three scoring and sixth on Sunday, he shared fifth with five others when he ought to have been the one asking questions of Hovland.
Giving the Norwegian 10 shots on Friday and losing by six shows how well Horsfield played for the most part and while that's back-to-back events in which he's failed to capitalise on an opening 64, ultimately he is playing at a level which means he can go close even with a couple of disasters along the way.
Although disappointing in the end, ultimately his form since a rust-shedding fortnight in the Canary Islands reads 30-8-29 and one of the stars of 2020 should find comfort at a course which ought to be easier than Galgorm Castle, where he was 14th last autumn.
Arguably the standout driver on the European Tour, Canter's approach play has been back on track lately and with the putter also warming up through eighth in Denmark and that effort last time at Green Eagle, he looks on the cusp of the sort of form which saw him bag five top-five finishes in 11 starts through the end of last year and into this.
His form at Celtic Manor and in the Italian Open, as well as when 10th in the Hero Open and 13th in the UK Championship at a course with Nicklaus fingerprints all stacks up nicely and as with Horsfield, he has bags of scope to improve again.
JORDAN SMITH is another of the best ball-strikers around and he's started to play really well again, finishing 17th, third and 11th before missing the cut in the US Open.
Before that he'd dropped a few hints in the Canaries, under conditions far easier than he'd like, and with that troublesome putter of his looking a little better he might be able to capitalise on the sort of driving which saw him rank first in Denmark and third at Green Eagle.
Missing the cut at Eichenried isn't a major worry as his form there now reads 58-MC-MC, and while I'm interested in that potential for correlation, it shouldn't exclude those who struggle in Munich from calculations.
Pepperell has long been at his best closer to home, as a winner of the British Masters who has threatened in that event subsequently, as well as at Wentworth and in the Irish, Scottish and Welsh opens down the years. In fact, six of the top 10 performances of his career have come in the UK and Ireland and with fans back in attendance, he might soon return to the form which saw him feature in the final group at the Belfry recently.
The signs are certainly there, as he's continued to produce good strokes-gained approach figures, which is key to his game. I am a little worried that Mount Juliet might demand more drivers than he likes to hit, but it also offers width and if he can perform to something like field average off the tee, the rest of his game is good enough to win a third European Tour title.
Pepperell is in fact half Irish, which might to some degree explain an excellent record in this event, and while probably more effective on links courses like Royal County Down (second) or Lahinch (fourth), he also has a top-10 finish at the K Club to his name.
"I love the event. It's a proper event," he said in 2018. "There's lots of people about and you feel like you're performing, I guess. I received great support from the fans in Ireland. I love Irish people. They are so much fun. It's a great country. Okay, they get a bit too much rain, but it's brilliant. Couldn't ask for much more from the event."
The worry with Arnaus is that he doesn't appear to be at his best, particularly from tee-to-green, but back-to-back top-10 finishes in May seemingly came out of nowhere under similar circumstances and confirm once more that he's very much in and out.
On a going week, he has the talent to compete with even the likes of McIlroy and Lowry and I'm hopeful that seeing longtime friend Jon Rahm win the US Open will help spark something, as could the fact that he's now set to tee up alongside Rahm in the Olympics this summer.
The major positive there was further improvement in his approach play, enough to rank sixth in the field, and he's got better and better in that department since returning from the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island.
Mid-tier scoring conditions and a parkland test look ideal for a player with two wins in his last 50 or so European Tour starts, and he was a little unlucky not to have captured this title last year at Galgorm Castle when mugged by a charging John Catlin.
Of course, had he won there he may not have gone on to defeat Tommy Fleetwood in a play-off for the Scottish Open so there's no hangover expected and he might be capable of making amends anyway.
Posted at 1900 BST on 28/06/21
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