Irish Open Top 10 Power Rankings
By Joe Walton
The Rory Foundation hosts the rejuvenated Irish Open once more and this season they have brought it to the fantastic K Club.
The Irish Open and Rory McIlroy have quickly become a matched set. It feels like a near-perfect fit.
The event was in danger of slipping down the priority list of the European Tour‘s best golfers. Then it got a new lease of life when the Rory Foundation got involved. The combination of McIlroy’s star power and new Dubai Duty Free sponsorship have fueled a marked increase in the quality of the field, as has the decision to rotate the tournament among the best courses on the island of Ireland.
After Soren Kjeldsen won the 2015 renewal in horrendously tough conditions at Royal County Down the tournament has moved to the K Club for 2016. This summer marks a decade since Europe won the Ryder Cup by a record margin at the K Club and, fittingly, some of the winners from that week are in the field.
From the championship tees the K Club plays a challenging 7,350 yards and, as you would expect from an Arnold Palmer design, there are plenty of holes waiting to trip up this stellar field. Much like last season, it will be vital to be able to control the ball flight in the wind at County Kildare. Scrambling for par and making the most of hitting greens in regulation is also going to go a long way towards separating those at the top of the leaderboard from the rest.
After a couple of modest weeks on the European Tour we have some of Europe’s most successful golfers competing for the 2016 Irish Open title so let’s get cracking with our top 10 Power Rankings.
Next: Rory McIlroy