Rory McIlroy poised to lead home challenge at Irish Open

Paul McGinley is more frequently found in the television tower than on the fairways these days, in his role as analyst with Sky Sports.

And as he prepared for a practice round here, amazingly his first on the Palmer Course since playing in the Ryder Cup in 2006, the Dubliner – who turns 50 in December – was adamant the tournament host was the one to beat in this week’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.

Although Rory McIlroy is winless on tour so far this season, McGinley observed: “Big hitting is an advantage and Rory can take a lot of the trouble out of play. You are looking at him, his form is pretty good too . . . he will have learned a lot from last year when he hosted at Royal County Down.

Protect himself

“Maybe he gave up too much of his time instead of preparing for his golf, so I don’t think he will make those mistakes again. He will protect himself and make sure golf is his priority, as well as hosting.”

McIlroy, as it happened, touched down in Dublin in the wee hours of yesterday morning after his tied-12th finish behind Jason Day in The Players.

One of 13 players to have competed in Sawgrass before making the transatlantic journey here, the world number three has finished 10th-4th-12th in his last three tournaments going back to last month’s Masters.

“I feel like it’s right around the corner, it just takes one week for everything to sort of click and you get some momentum and you get a win and you are off and running,” said the Northern Irishman, whose last tournament win came in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai last November to wrap up the European Tour order of merit title.

McIlroy added: “Hopefully this is the week that can kick-start the rest of the season. But I feel like my game is in good shape, just keep working on the things that I need to. It’s not far away.”

If the tag of favouritism has naturally fallen on McIlroy’s shoulders, there is a strength – in quality as well as numbers – about the home challenge for this €4 million. Gary Hurley, who finished fourth in the Montecchia Open in Italy on the Challenge Tour, was yesterday handed the eighth and final sponsor’s invite into the tournament. He is the fourth Irishman from last year’s Walker Cup winning team – joining Jack Hume, Gavin Moynihan and Paul Dunne – to earn a place in the field through an invitation.

Dunne, who spent much of last week in hospital recovering from colitis after suffering from food poisoning picked up in the Trophée Hassan in Morocco, has gradually recovered his energy levels.

“I’ll be 100 per cent , I’ll be fine,” said Dunne, who played 18 holes on Saturday after leaving hospital. “I probably shouldn’t have. I was tired after it. I collapsed on the couch and woke up on the couch in the middle of the night.”

Home comforts

At least Dunne will have some home comforts this week. He shares a house in nearby Maynooth with Hume and Hurley.

Watching the final round of The Players on TV on Sunday night, Dunne and Hume had a conversation which highlighted just how much this tournament means to home players:

“We were talking about whether you’d rather win The Players or the Irish Open. For the Irish guys, this definitely comes as a fifth Major I guess, behind the Majors and the World Golf Championships. It is definitely one that everyone wants to win, so it would be great to do well.”