Irish Open Golf Betting Guide 2026: Doonbeg, Field

The Irish Open golf betting guide

The 2026 Irish Open runs from Thursday 10 to Sunday 13 September, at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, County Clare. It's the tournament's first visit to the course, and Rory McIlroy arrives as defending champion after a play-off win at the K Club last September.

For punters, a big field event like this is never just the outright market. There's a market on the leading Irish player, each-way terms that shift with the size of the field, and three-balls to pick through round by round.

Here's when it's on, who's confirmed for Doonbeg, what you can actually bet on, and what's changed about betting on it in Ireland since last year.

The short version

• Dates: Thursday 10 to Sunday 13 September 2026, with the pro-am on Wednesday 9 September.

• Venue: Trump International Golf Links, Doonbeg, County Clare, hosting the Irish Open for the first time.

• Watch: live on Sky Sports and the Golf Channel, with highlights on RTE and BBC NI.

• Field: Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and the Hojgaard brothers are confirmed, alongside Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald and Irish contenders Padraig Harrington, Seamus Power and Tom McKibbin. More names are expected to join before the week.

• Bet: the markets that matter most are outright winner, top Irish player, each-way and three-ball, and any bookmaker taking Irish bets on the event has needed a GRAI licence since 1 July 2026.

When and where: Doonbeg, 10 to 13 September

The Amgen Irish Open runs Thursday 10 to Sunday 13 September 2026, with the pro-am on the Wednesday and general admission tickets covering the full week. It's the tournament's first visit to Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, on the County Clare coast, after 2025's edition at the K Club in Straffan, County Kildare, ended in a three-hole play-off.

General admission tickets start from €35 for a single day, with the Ticket+ upgrade, which adds a raised viewing area and a food and drink voucher, from €155. The Green on 18 hospitality package, with VIP admission and greenside dining, starts at €549 per person.

The course: a different test to the K Club

Doonbeg is proper links golf: a par-72 course running through dunes along the Atlantic, with the sea in play on several holes. That's a different examination altogether to the parkland test the K Club set last year. Expect the wind and the ground conditions on the week to do a fair bit of the defending, whatever the leaderboard looked like at the last event.

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Who's confirmed for Doonbeg

Rory McIlroy defends the title he won at the K Club, his second Irish Open after a first win back in 2016, and he did it the hard way last year, beating Sweden's Joakim Lagergren on the third extra hole of a play-off. Shane Lowry is the other name every Irish fan will be watching. He won this tournament as a 22-year-old amateur in 2009 at County Louth, shooting a 62 along the way, and it remains one of the great Irish sporting stories.

Padraig Harrington, Seamus Power and Tom McKibbin round out the confirmed Irish contingent. The wider field draws on the Ryder Cup, with Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, and Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard already in, alongside Team Europe captain Luke Donald. The organisers have been clear that more names are still to be added as the week approaches, so treat any field list published this early as a work in progress rather than the final word.

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A tournament with history

The Irish Open dates back to 1927, first played at Portmarnock, and it has been staged at some of the country's best courses since: Royal County Down, Ballybunion, County Louth, Carton House and, most recently, the K Club. The roll of past champions reads like a history of the European game: Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal, Ian Woosnam, Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Sergio Garcia, Sam Torrance and Colin Montgomerie have all lifted the trophy, alongside home winners Padraig Harrington, Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy. The winner takes home a Waterford Crystal trophy, which is as Irish a touch as this tournament carries.

The betting markets at a big field event

A field of well over a hundred players opens up more than the straightforward outright market, and it's worth knowing what's actually on offer before you back anything.

Outright winner. A price on every player in the field to win the tournament. The standard market, and the one that gets the most attention.

Top Irish player. A market of its own at a home Open: which Irish or Northern Irish player finishes best, regardless of where they land in the overall field. With McIlroy, Lowry, Harrington, Power and McKibbin all likely to feature, it's usually a competitive market in its own right.

Each-way. Each-way terms on golf move with the size of the field, and the exact fraction and number of places paid varies from bookmaker to bookmaker. Rather than guess at a figure that will differ by operator, we've covered how each-way terms actually work, and how golf's version differs from a normal each-way bet, separately.

Three-ball. A round-by-round market on a group of three players, settled purely on who scores best among the three that day, whatever happens to the rest of the field. It's a way to have an interest in the tournament without needing a view on who lifts the trophy.

There are round-leader and 36-hole leader markets too, both settled purely on the state of play at a fixed point rather than the final result. Odds on all of these move by operator and by the day, so it's worth checking more than one bookmaker before you commit to a price.

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Betting on the Irish Open under Irish rules

Since 1 July 2026, any bookmaker taking bets from Irish customers on an event like the Irish Open needs to hold a licence from the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland. That's a real change from last year's tournament: it gives Irish bettors an actual regulator and a statutory complaints route if something goes wrong with a bet, a payout or an account, rather than whatever the operator's own terms happen to say.

It doesn't change the markets or the prices on offer, and it's not a reason to trust one operator's odds over another's. It just means there's somewhere to go if a licensed bookmaker doesn't play fair.

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Watching in Ireland

The tournament is broadcast live on Sky Sports and the Golf Channel throughout the week, with highlights on RTE and BBC NI for anyone without a subscription. On site, Failte Ireland has pitched Doonbeg as one of the country's biggest golf events, with more than 100,000 spectators expected to pass through the gates across the week.

Frequently asked questions

When is the 2026 Irish Open?

Thursday 10 to Sunday 13 September 2026, with the pro-am on Wednesday 9 September, at Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, County Clare.

Where was the Irish Open held last year?

The 2025 edition was at the K Club in Straffan, County Kildare, where Rory McIlroy won a three-hole play-off against Sweden's Joakim Lagergren.

Who has won the Irish Open as an Irish player?

Shane Lowry won it as a 22-year-old amateur in 2009 at County Louth. Rory McIlroy has won it twice, first in 2016 and again in 2025. Padraig Harrington is also a past champion.

How can I watch the Irish Open in Ireland?

Live coverage runs on Sky Sports and the Golf Channel. RTE and BBC NI carry highlights for viewers without a sports subscription.

What are the main betting markets for the Irish Open?

Outright winner, top Irish player, each-way and three-ball are the four most commonly offered markets, alongside round-leader markets settled at fixed points in the tournament.

Is betting on the Irish Open regulated in Ireland?

Yes, for licensed operators. Bookmakers taking bets from Irish customers have needed a licence from the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland since 1 July 2026, which gives Irish bettors a statutory complaints route.

Safer gambling: enjoy Doonbeg for the golf first, and treat any bet on it as entertainment, not a system. If gambling is causing difficulty for you or someone you know, the National Gambling Helpline is free and confidential on 1800 936 725, 24 hours a day.