The DP World Tour this week arrives on Irish soil for the first time this year as the 2022 Horizon Irish Open returns to Mount Juliet Estate.
Australian Lucas Herbert is back to defend his title, Shane Lowry, Séamus Power and Pádraig Harrington will look to thrill their home fans, while Rolex Series winners Thomas Pieters, Tyrrell Hatton and Min Woo Lee are also in a strong field assembled in County Kilkenny.
If you have not done so already, you can sign up now to the official Fantasy Game of the DP World Tour and submit your six-man team before round one on Thursday: https://fantasy.dpworldtour.com/
Favourite – Shane Lowry
The Irishman shot to prominence when he became only the third amateur to win a Tour title at Ireland’s national open in a play-off against Robert Rock at Baltray in 2009.
Lowry, 24th in the Official World Golf Ranking, registered his fourth top ten of 2022 at the RBC Canadian Open earlier this month and has missed just one cut – in the U.S. Open at Brookline – in his last 14 appearances worldwide.
The 2019 Open Championship winner arrives on home soil 14th in the DP World Tour Rankings in Partnership with Rolex as he goes in search of a sixth title on the DP World Tour and began the season with a top 15 finish at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
Form horse – Thomas Pieters
Already a Rolex Series winner this season, Pieters nearly claimed his second Tour title of the campaign and third in eight months as he lost out to Li Haotong in a play-off at the BMW International Open last week.
The Belgian climbed to fourth in the DP World Tour Rankings in Partnership with Rolex as a result of his fourth top ten of the season in Germany, where he posted 23 birdies and four eagles across the four rounds at Golfclub München Eichenried.
The 30-year-old also has good memories of his last visit to Mount Juliet after he posted three consecutive sub-70 rounds to finish in a share of 12th place when the tournament made its return to the venue last year.
Wild card – Pádraig Harrington
Harrington held off rival 2020 Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker to win his maiden senior Major Championship title at the U.S. Senior Open on debut on at the weekend.
The three-time Major Champion, whose last DP World Tour win came at the 2016 Portugal Masters, also recorded a top ten at the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic on the Rolex Series in January.
The 50-year-old first competed in Ireland’s national open in 1996 and won one of his 15 Tour titles at the event in 2007, following two prior runner-up finishes.
