Feel closer to the action on the DP World Tour by competing against golf fans from around the world in our official Fantasy game as the Back 9 continues with the return of links golf at the Amgen Irish Open.
To play Fantasy DP World Tour, click here.
The DP World Tour returns to Royal County Down for the first time in almost a decade for the third event of the Back 9 as home star Rory McIlroy leads a stellar field in Northern Ireland.
The four-time Major winner represented Great Britain & Ireland in the Walker Cup at the venue in 2007 and is targeting his second Irish Open crown after claiming victory at The K Club in 2016.
Another player bidding to win the island of Ireland’s national open for the second time is Shane Lowry, who became the first amateur winner of the prestigious event in 2009 at County Louth.
Their Ryder Cup team-mate Robert MacIntyre is another teeing it up this week, with the Scot trying to become the first player to win the Genesis Scottish Open and Amgen Irish Open in the same season.
PGA TOUR winners Aaron Rai and Erik van Rooyen are also in action as are Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, a host of DP World Tour winners this season and American Major winner Jimmy Walker.
If you have not done so already, you can sign up to play the official 2024 DP World Tour Fantasy game here and submit your six-man team before round one gets under way on Thursday.
The 2024 season-long winner will win a trip to the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai next year, enjoy a lesson with a DP World Tour professional and a round of golf on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates. For more information on this amazing prize and others, read here.
Fantasy Insight: In the early stages of players picking their teams, past champion Lowry is currently most chosen, featuring in almost 93% of squads – perhaps not a surprise given his record in links golf.
MacIntyre, who is aiming to add the Irish Open to his Scottish Open victory earlier this summer, is the next most-selected at just under 80%, with Rai third in just shy of 62% of teams.
Here, we pick out three players in action this week who are worth considering for your Fantasy team selections.
Favourite – Rory McIlroy
Who else could it be other than the four-time Major champion and World Number Three, the highest-ranked player in the field. This year marks his 15th appearance at the island of Ireland’s national open, an event he won at The K Club in 2016.
Having grown up in Holywood, less than an hour from Royal County Down, McIlroy will be determined to mount a strong bid for a second Irish Open success as he returns to DP World Tour action after most recently playing at the Tour Championship on the PGA TOUR.
While he may have missed the cut when the prestigious Royal County Down last held the event in 2015, he was also part of the Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup team in 2007, splitting two singles matches against Billy Horschel.
Already a winner on either side of the Atlantic this year, at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and Wells Fargo Championship, the 35-year-old is out in front at the top of the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex as he looks to win his sixth season-long title.
Form Horse – Robert MacIntyre
In truth, there are several players who have shown good form in recent weeks, but if we’re to highlight a player who has truly elevated their game across the course of the season then the Scotsman fits the bill.
Having started the year just inside the top 60, he has risen to 16th after winning twice on the PGA TOUR, with victories at the RBC Canadian Open and on home soil at the Genesis Scottish Open in July.
Both those wins – coupled with three other top tens – helped him reach the season-ending Tour Championship stateside at East Lake, finishing tied 16th.
The Ryder Cup star now bids to become the first player in history to win the Amgen Irish Open and Genesis Scottish Open in the same season.
Wild Card – Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
Following his third victory of the European Challenge Tour season over the weekend, the Dane takes his place in the field in Northern Ireland after gaining automatic promotion to the DP World Tour.
With the victory at the Big Green Egg German Challenge powered by VcG in Germany, achieved thanks to a nine-birdie 64 in Sunday’s final round, he became the first player since Rai in 2017 to secure three triumphs in a single season.
Neergaard-Petersen spent five years at Oklahoma State University during which he finished as runner-up in the 2020 Western Amateur, losing 3&2 to Pierceson Coody who now plys his trade on the PGA TOUR.
Sitting a career-high 209th on the Official World Golf Ranking, the 25-year-old can now build up his DP World Tour experience over the remainder of the season ahead of his rookie campaign getting under way later in the year.
Looking Back – Omega European Masters
With his victory in Crans Montana, Matt Wallace racked up 192 points for the 10,172 (30.99%) players who picked him, with 1,013 making big gains by making him their captain.
Our Favourite Matt Fitzpatrick finished 27th – tied alongside Form Horse Thriston Lawrence – after a closing 64, while Wild Card Jacob Skov Olesen struggled over the weekend as the Danish amateur finished 74th.