Irish Open 2024 FRL Tips: Five to go low on Thursday

The DP World Tour heads to Ireland this week and our golf tipster Jamie Worsley has already posted his Irish Open Betting Preview here at Betfred Insights.

Now though, he focuses on the First Round Leader market and has five names to consider playing at good odds. Check out his Irish Open FRL Tips below…

*You can get all the latest Irish Open Odds over at betfred.com

The Irish Open begins tomorrow and I’ve picked out five players who can make a fast start at the world-renowned Royal County Down.

The weather forecast is predicting a moderate breeze of around 12-15mph throughout the day, with gusts of up to 25mph, showing little difference between the two waves.

Whilst the slightly warmer afternoon temperatures (14C instead of 9C in the morning) could separate them a touch, it’s not enough to make me overwhelmingly favour that side of the draw. Instead, I’m going to split my selections pretty evenly, with just one more from the afternoon tee times.

1 pt Aaron Rai ew (1/4, 5 places) @ 40/1 

Start time: 07:50

Aaron Rai was very much on the radar outright this week and as a proven wind player, he looks an attractive price to take the first-round lead tomorrow.

Rai had performed well in his first couple of seasons on the PGA Tour but has stepped that up massively in 2024. He finally got his rewards with a first tour victory in the Wyndham Championship four starts ago, which helped take him to East Lake and the Tour Championship for the first time.

Strong starts have been the foundations for his performances this season, ranking 3^rd in this field in round one scoring. This has been on show over recent starts, shooting the second-best score of 66 in the first round on his last start in the Tour Championship, and he opened with a 5-under 65 when winning the Wyndham.

Rai’s victory in the 2020 Scottish Open displayed his ability to perform on the links in windy conditions, and with his liking for this style of golf further emphasised by a 19^th-place finish on debut in the 2021 Open Championship, he looks a good shout to lead on Thursday.

0.5 pts Andrea Pavan ew (1/4, 5 places) @ 80/1

Start time: 13:20

Andrea Pavan ranks 6^th in this field in round one performances over the last three months and possessing some encouraging links form, he can put it to good use tomorrow.

Pavan is currently enjoying his best run of form on the DP World Tour since 2019. He’s missed just two cuts in his last 12 starts and has recorded six top-25s, with his best efforts coming when he finished 4^th in the KLM Open and 5^th in the Italian Open.

He’s opened with an under par round in nine of those most recent starts. This includes him shooting a 69 to sit 5^th after the first round of the British Masters two starts ago; a 7-under 65 saw him finish round one in 4^th in the ISCO Championship; and he fired a superb 64 to take a share of the first-round lead in the Italian Open.

Pavan missed the cut on his only Open Championship appearance but has plenty of links form, finishing 4^th in the 2019 Scottish Open and 5^th in the 2018 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Experiences that could be valuable on Thursday.

0.5 pts Shubhankar Sharma ew (1/4, 5 places) @ 90/1

Start time: 13:40

Shubhankar Sharma is in good form and has been performing reasonably well in round one over the last three months. As a proven links player, he has the tools to hit the front in the first round this week.

Sharma has made his last 11 cuts in a row and comes into this after recording four top-20s in his last six starts. His best during this period was a 5^th in the Italian Open, but it also involves a promising 19^th-place finish in the Open Championship. Showing that he can handle tough, windy, linksy conditions.

Though never really threatening the first-round lead over this time, he’s been rock-solid in the opening rounds of the previous three months, ranking 25^th in round one performance in this field.

Sharma’s top-20 at Royal Troon wasn’t a one off, as it followed on from him finishing 8^th in The Open at Hoylake last year. Indeed, he’s made each of his four cuts in that fine old championship and I’m hoping he will transfer his affinity for this brand of golf to tomorrow.

0.5 pts Paul Waring ew (1/4, 5 places) @ 100/1 

Start time: 14:00

Paul Waring took the first-round lead when we last saw him in the British Masters and as a strong links operator, he can do so again tomorrow.

Waring’s form has blown hot and cold this year, but he does come into this week after finding his game again over recent starts. It’s been especially notable how his irons have improved, which has engineered results of 21^st in the Barracuda Championship, 6^th in the Czech Masters and 25^th in the British Masters across his last four efforts.

He’s turned out fairly well over the opening 18 holes this year, ranking 16^th in round one performances in this field. This was certainly evident on his last start, as he fired a 5-under 67 to share the first-round lead at The Belfry.

Waring has a best of 19^th in The Open from 2008 – just a year after he’d turned professional – and he’s amassed many other strong links performances in the pro ranks. Possessing finishes of 2^nd and 6^th at Hillside, whilst he also finished 3^rd in the 2019 Dunhill Links.

0.5 pts Andrew Wilson ew (1/4, 5 places) @ 125/1

Start time: 08:30

Andrew Wilson has been in good form of late, over which time he’s been starting smartly. In ownership of a strong piece of form at Royal County Down from his amateur days, he looks a lively outsider to take the first-round lead.

Wilson has recorded five top-20s in his last nine starts, the best of which came when he finished 9^th in the British Masters two starts ago – his highest finish of the season.

He started well that week, opening with a 69 to sit 5^th after round one and he’s had several other similarly good starts in the last three and a bit months, shooting a 65 to sit 4^th after the first round of the ISCO Championship and a 7-under 64 to hit 2^nd place in the Soudal Open. A level of first-round play that sees him rank 18^th in this field in round one performance.

Wilson finished 7^th here in the 2018 Irish Amateur and was a commendable 32^nd on his one-and-only Open Championship appearance in 2019. Combined with his recent form and first-round displays, he was attractively priced to make some noise near the top of the leaderboard on Thursday.

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