Irish Open 2025 Betting Tips: McKibbin to win on home soil?

With the Ryder Cup fast approaching, the DP World Tour’s Back 9 rolls into Ireland this week, where a top-class field has gathered for the Irish Open at the K Club’s North Course.

Our golf tipster Jamie Worsley is back with his long-read preview of the event and has picked out six players to back each-way this week. Check out Jamie's  thoughts and those all-important Irish Open 2025 Betting Tips below...

TOURNAMENT HISTORY 

First held in 1927, the Irish Open is one of the oldest national championships in golf. It was previously cancelled in 1954 but returned after an over 20-year absence in 1975, and it has been a mainstay on the DP World Tour calendar since.

This tournament has been won by some of the greats of European golf and it's a particularly esteemed quartet that shares the most victories in Ireland, with three apiece. Seve Ballesteros was the first to achieve this feat, winning in 1983, 1985 and 1986; he has been succeeded by Sir Nick Faldo (1991, 1992, 1993), Bernhard Langer (1984, 1987, 1994) and Colin Montgomerie (1996, 1997, 2001).

The prestige of the championship is further enhanced by wins for players such as Ian Woosnam (1988, 1989), Jose Maria Olazabal (1990), Sergio Garcia (1999), Padraig Harrington (2007), Shane Lowry (2009), Rory McIlroy (2016) and Jon Rahm (2017, 2019).

Last five winners:

• 2024 (Royal County Down)

Winner: Rasmus Hojgaard (-9)

Runner-up: Rory McIlroy (-8)

• 2023 (The K Club)

      Winner: Vincent Norrman (-14)

      Runner-up: Hurly Long (-13)

• 2022 (Mount Juliet)

Winner: Adrian Meronk (-20)

Runner-up: Ryan Fox (-17)

• 2021 (Mount Juliet)

Winner: Lucas Herbert (-19)

Runner-up: Rikard Karlberg (-16)

• 2020 (Galgorm Castle)

Winner: John Catlin (-10)

Runner-up: Aaron Rai (-8)

A fast-finishing Rasmus Hojgaard won last year's Irish Open at Royal County Down, birdying four of his final five holes to beat 54-hole leader Rory McIlroy by one shot. Unfortunately, with his Ryder Cup debut secured, he doesn't return to defend this week.

THE COURSE

The Irish Open rarely stays in the same place too long, and this week it returns to the K Club's North Course, host in both 2016 and 2023.

Designed by Arnold Palmer and opening in 1991, this American-style parkland was the scene of Europe's most dominant Ryder Cup success in 2006 – where they beat the U.S. 18 ½ - 9 ½ - and it previously hosted the European Open on the DP World Tour on 10 occasions.

The course will play to the same par and yardage as in 2023: a par 72 measuring 7441yds. It possesses 4x par 3s (177-214yds), 10x par 4s (412-486yds) and 4x par 5s (548-596yds).

Built on gently rolling terrain with subtle elevation changes throughout, the K Club is a straightforward layout, with most holes tree-lined but still generally spacious. However, due to the prominence of water – which is in-play on 14 holes – it is also an extremely penal course, and players rarely take it apart, with those last two editions of the event staged here won in scores of -12 (2016) and -14 (2023).

The fairways are around average in width overall and frequently dogleg in both directions. Although bunkers aren't abundant aside them, thick rough offers protection and players need to drive the ball smartly to open up the best angle of attack with their irons.

Bentgrass covers the predominantly large greens, which are packed with variety. These slick, well-contoured surfaces are crowned and often multi-tiered, protected by intimidatingly deep greenside bunkers and shaved run-offs that can make them tricky to hold.

As you'd expect due to the amount of water in-play, the course features countless risk/reward chances. This results in seemingly gettable birdie chances on the four par 3s and three of the par 5s having the potential for disaster.

The same threat lingers on the challenging set of mid-range par 4s and players will need to have the long game dialled in heading into this week at the K Club.

THE WEATHER

The forecast is looking miserable in Ireland, with rain and little sign of sunshine predicted throughout. It will obviously be receptive, but with thick, wet rough and a constantly strong breeze of around 12-14mph – which could gust at up to 32mph – I expect scoring to be difficult.

KEY STATS

• SG: Off-the-Tee

The K Club is a tough all-round test, and players will need to be on form through the bag this week. That said, I felt the driver would be key last time and that certainly came to fruition.

Five of the top six in 2023 ranked inside the top 20 off-the-tee. This included winner Vincent Norrman ranking 7^th, Ryan Fox in 3^rd ranked 1^st, and fellow 3^rd-place finisher Shane Lowry ranked 5^th.

• SG: Approach/Greens-in-Regulation

Although high-class approach play wasn't prevalent among those main contenders two years ago, that is a small sample size, and it is sure to be an area of importance in the future. Especially into putting surfaces that possess pin positions that are hard to access.

Greens-in-regulation percentages were high among the top players in 2023. Each of the top six ranked inside the top 30, with Vincent Norrman ranking 12^th and Grant Forrest in 3^rd ranked 6^th.

• Scrambling
• Par 5 Scoring

The difficulty in hitting these greens will be elevated further this week due to the forecasted conditions and will require strong scrambling skills to get up and down. Vincent Norrman ranked 8^th in this stat on his way to victory in 2023.

In addition, with three par 5s coming on the back nine and two over the last three holes, these scoring chances are bound to have a big say in who walks away with the trophy.

CORRELATING EVENTS

Betfred British Masters/UK Championship (The Belfry – Brabazon Course)

The Belfry's Brabazon Course is also a former Ryder Cup venue that is strongly defended by water and has several risk/reward holes. This tree-lined venue ranks close to the K Club in ball-striking difficulty and often favours high-class drivers.

Notable correlating form:

Hurly Long:

K Club (2^nd) / British Masters (6^th)

Thriston Lawrence:

K Club (3^rd) / British Masters (2^nd)

Ryan Fox:

K Club (3^rd) / British Masters (8^th)

Connor Syme:

K Club (7^th) / British Masters (3^rd)

BMW PGA Championship (Wentworth Golf Club)

Wentworth is another tree-lined parkland that has previously hosted the Ryder Cup. It has bentgrass greens, a similar ball-striking test, and just like the K Club it has an exciting finish, with two par 5s coming at the end.

Notable correlating form:

Ryan Fox:

K Club (3^rd) / BMW PGA (1^st)

Shane Lowry:

K Club (3^rd) / BMW PGA (1^st, 2^nd)

Thriston Lawrence:

K Club (3^rd) / BMW PGA (2^nd)

Tyrrell Hatton:

K Club (5^th) / BMW PGA (1^st, 2^nd)

Eddie Pepperell:

K Club (8^th) / BMW PGA (6^th, 6^th)

Open de France (Le Golf National)

Le Golf National makes it a trio of Ryder Cup hosts to look at this week. It's more exposed than the K Club, but with water lurking throughout and ranking similar to this week's host in tee-to-green difficulty, it acts as a strong comp.

Notable correlating form:

Russell Knox:

K Club (2^nd) / France (2^nd)

Ryan Fox:

K Club (3^rd) / France (6^th)

Matthew Southgate:

K Club (4^th) / France (5^th)

Rafa Cabrera Bello:

K Club (8^th) / France (4^th, 5^th)

European Open (Green Eagle Resort – North Course)

The North Course at the Green Eagle Resort is a monstrous, water-laden layout that requires ball-striking of the highest quality to overcome. It especially suited players who excelled off the tee and also asked similarly demanding questions around the greens as the K Club.

Notable correlating form:

Thriston Lawrence:

K Club (3^rd) / European Open (2^nd)

Matthew Southgate:

K Club (4^th) / European Open (2^nd)

Max Kieffer:

K Club (5^th) / European Open (2^nd)

THE FIELD

Another exciting field has assembled for this week's Irish Open, including 19 of the world's top 100 players. World No. 2 Rory McIlroy is the star attraction, and he's joined by fellow home favourite Shane Lowry (No. 23) and England's Tyrrell Hatton (No. 25) from the top 25.

In the absence of reigning champion Rasmus Hojgaard and 2023 winner Vincent Norrman, the 2022 Irish Open victor Adrian Meronk is the most recent former winner in attendance. He is one of six past champions in the field, accompanied by the aforementioned Rory McIlroy (2016) and Shane Lowry (2009), alongside John Catlin (2020), Ross Fisher (2010), and of course, Padraig Harrington (2007).

PGA Tour winners Jhonattan Vegas and Ryan Gerard make their debuts in the event; as do LIV's Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed; and we also have a cast of players returning from PGA Tour action, including Thomas Detry and Christiaan Bezuidenhout.

*You can check out the latest Irish Open 2025 Odds and bet on this event over on betfred.com

SELECTIONS

Market leaders (1/4 5 places): Rory McIlroy 7/2, Tyrrell Hatton 11/1, Shane Lowry 16/1, Marco Penge 18/1, Patrick Reed 25/1, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen 25/1

1.25 pts Tom McKibbin each-way (1/5 - 6 places) @ 40/1

Tom McKibbin has long been a great driver of the ball, and he has maintained that reputation on LIV this season. He finished an excellent 3^rd when we last saw him on the DP World Tour in Singapore and as a former winner of the European Open, this looks an ideal opportunity for him to win in front of a home crowd.

McKibbin began the year with a 6^th-place finish in the Dubai Desert Classic and carried that form over to his first starts on LIV, finishing 6^th in Hong Kong and 7^th in Adelaide across his first three. His form on the circuit slipped following that, but he has since recorded his two highest finishes of the year in the final five events, backing up a 5^th-place finish in Dallas by finishing 4^th at Valderrama.

The driver has remained his biggest weapon, gaining strokes in all but one appearance on LIV in 2025. His iron play has also been improved in recent starts and as a player who ranked inside the top 25 in scrambling and par 5 scoring on the DP World Tour last year, he's a perfect fit for the K Club.

McKibbin finished a solid 39^th here in 2023, firing three rounds of 70 after an opening 72. Furthermore, having recorded his only DP World Tour win at the Green Eagle Resort in 2023, we know he has the ability to win on water-packed layouts where strong ball-striking is vital.

1.25 pts Jesper Svensson each-way (1/5 - 6 places) @ 45/1

Jesper Svensson has transferred his elite driving to the PGA Tour in his rookie season, which has contributed to him having every chance of keeping his card next year. Despite missing the cut at The Belfry on his latest start, he played well in the second round and if he can begin more positively this week, he’s got every chance of being in the mix come Sunday.

Svensson has only missed five of 20 cuts on the PGA Tour in 2025 and recorded four top-20 finishes. His standout performance came at the Sony Open in the second event of the year, finishing 10^th, and prior to teeing it up on the DP World Tour in the last month, he’d produced finishes of 16^th in The Open and 14^th in the 3M Open.

The towering Swede has shone off-the-tee, ranking 12^th and he’d made big strides in approach before the British Masters, gaining strokes in five of his previous six starts. He puts his power to effective use on the par 5s, ranking 3^rd in par 5 scoring this year and while his scrambling numbers haven’t quite been up to scratch, he did rank 36^th on the DP World Tour in 2024.

Svensson should be relishing a return to the Emerald Isle after that top-20 finish at Royal Portrush six weeks ago, and with a 5^th-place finish at The Belfry last year acting as a handy piece of comp form, I fancy him to take to the K Club on debut.

1 pt Keita Nakajima each-way (1/5 - 6 places) @ 50/1

We were on Keita Nakajima at Crans-sur-Sierre last week and he drove the ball superbly on his way to a 17^th-place finish. It sustains his recent upturn in form and arriving at a course that he should enjoy based on a couple of promising pieces of comp form, I’m keen to stick with him at the K Club.

Nakajima’s game was in great nick at the start of the season, recording two consecutive runner-up finishes in the Singapore Classic and Indian Open during his first six starts. He missed five of his next nine cuts following those performances, but he burst back into form at The Belfry two starts ago, finishing 4^th, and he followed that up in the Swiss Alps, shooting four rounds in the 60s to finish 17^th in the European Masters.

Whilst his display at The Belfry was a result of high-class iron play and putting, last week’s performance was engineered by excellent driving, ranking 3^rd. Indeed, it’s the driver that has been his strongest club all season, ranking 15^th, and as a fine all-rounder, ranking 24^th in greens-in-regulation and 33^rd in scrambling, he is more than capable of handling this week’s course and conditions.

The former No. 1 amateur hasn’t played the Irish Open before, but that top-five finish in the British Masters strengthens his case here. In addition, Nakajima finished 6^th on his only start in the European Open last year, increasing my confidence that he will be a serious contender this week.

1 pt Laurie Canter each-way (1/5 - 6 places) @ 66/1

Laurie Canter was disappointing two weeks ago at The Belfry, where he drove it well but struggled in every other area on his way to a 64^th-place finish. That said, this place should suit and at more than double the price, he’s worth another shot in Ireland.

Finishing 3^rd in the Dubai Desert Classic and winning in Bahrain, Canter got his 2025 campaign off to a fantastic start. He then finished 2^nd in the South African Open in March.

After struggling during the following few months, it was a positive to see the long game in decent shape in Scotland and Germany three and four starts ago, as he finished 34^th in the Scottish Open and 7^th in the BMW International Open.

The Englishman consistently rates as one of the highest-quality drivers on tour, ranking 3^rd this season. His iron play has also shown promise, ranking 16^th in greens-in-regulation and 30^th in approach. When combined with top-25 rankings in scrambling and par 5 scoring, he has a well-rounded profile for the nuances of the K Club.

Canter hasn’t played here previously, but he does have two top-20s in the Irish Open – finishing 14^th in 2020 and 17^th last year. He also won his first DP World Tour title at the European Open in 2024 and with a runner-up finish at Wentworth, his comp form boosts his chances.

1 pt Richard Mansell each-way (1/5 - 6 places) @ 70/1

Richard Mansell arrives at the K Club off the back of his second-best finish of the season in Switzerland, where he finished 6^th. He’s returned to his brilliant best off the tee in recent weeks and in ownership of some eye-catching results at correlating events, he can hit the top of the leaderboard this week.

Mansell finally earned his breakthrough DP World Tour title in March, winning the weather-shortened Singapore Classic – an event that has been dominated by strong drivers in the past. He’s been solid if unspectacular since that victory, finishing 12^th in Turkey and 22^nd in the Scottish Open among 10 starts, but he stepped up those efforts significantly at Crans, shooting rounds of 65-64-68-65 to finish 6^th.

He's been exceptional with the driver in previous seasons and has been at his absolute best with the club of late, ranking 20^th for the season. He had laboured with his putting and approach this year, but he found form with both clubs at the European Masters, ranking 4^th on the greens and 12^th with his irons – an improvement I’m hoping he can carry into this week.

Mansell finished 54^th here in 2023, but he’d looked better for most of that event, entering the final round in 13^th place before a closing 76 dropped him 41 positions. He’s got a strong book of form in the European Open, finishing 3^rd in 2022 and with an 8^th-place finish at The Belfry to his name, I’m sure his skillset will suit this test.

1 pt Dan Bradbury each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 175/1

Dan Bradbury was also among our selections two weeks ago in the British Masters and he performed much better than the aforementioned Canter, finishing 19^th. He again hit his irons well there and having impressed with driver throughout his pro career, he can improve on his missed cut at the K Club in 2023.

Bradbury teed it up at The Belfry following five straight missed cuts, but he did hit the ball well on his penultimate start in the Danish Golf Championship. He picked up where he left off in the Midlands and having also found something on the greens he was able to record that top-20 finish.

He ranked 4^th in approach there, following on from ranking 2^nd in the same area for his two rounds in Denmark. It’s no surprise to see him excel with the long game overall this season, ranking 19^th in greens-in-regulation, 29^th in driving accuracy, 31^st in approach and 40^th off-the-tee – numbers that point to him being a great fit for this setup.

Bradbury showed potential at the course when narrowly missing the cut in 2023, looking particularly strong in approach, and having also won his second DP World Tour title in France at the end of last year, he ticks a lot of boxes for this week’s Irish Open.

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