Irish Open threeballs: free betting tips, preview and when to watch

TV: Sky Sports Golf, 10.30am Thursday

Matt Wallace has steadily climbed the world rankings to be one of the top English players in the world, but his recent links form is not prolific and he could struggle in his 1.20pm BST threeball with Jon Rahm and Louis Oosthuizen.

Wallace has moved up to 24th in the rankings and performed well to finish third in his last outings at the BMW International Open. But he has missed the cut at each of his last two Irish Opens, which doesn't bode well for his quest at Lahinch Golf Club this week.

He has had the weekend off in both of his appearances at the Scottish Open and his tilt at The Open at Carnoustie last year also ended at the halfway stage.

Finishes of 59-28 at the Dunhill Links Championship are hardly inspirational either so he could be competing this week with one eye on his effort to win the Claret Jug at Portrush in a couple of weeks.

He may not hit the ground running and the same can be said of former Open champion Louis Oosthuizen.

He stands 115th on the PGA Tour first-round scoring average rankings and while he has made the cut in four of his previous six appearances at the Irish Open, he hs not played in the tournament since finishing 25th in 2009, the year Shane Lowry overcame torrential rain to win as an amateur.

Oosthuizen did not play between the US Open and The Open last year so this could also be an acclimatisation exercise.

So Rahm looks the outstanding prospect and should be backed to come out on top in the first round.

The Spaniard loves this tournament having won at Portstewart in 2017 and finished fourth last year at Ballyliffin.

His recent form is good as he followed a third place at the US Open at Pebble Beach with second spot in last week's Andalucia Masters and we can expect a swift start from the man who is eighth, tied with Dustin Johnson, in the first-round scoring stats.

Recommendation
J Rahm to win threeball1.20pm BST
2pts 8-5 Betfair

Follow us on Twitter

Like us on Facebook RacingPostSport