Australian PGA champion Nathan Holman will
be in his comfort zone when he tees up on European soil as a full member of the
Tour for the first time this week.

After a fascinating 2015 event at the
prestigious Royal County Down links course, The Dubai Duty Free Irish Open
moves to a more American style layout this year in the K Club, host site of the
2006 Ryder Cup.

An Arnold Palmer design, the course favours
a more aerial game than the famous seaside courses of the host nation and that
is a style familiar to players of Holman’s generation.

With four time major winner Rory McIlroy
fulfilling the role as host, a stellar field has gathered for the 2016
tournament with Holman one of six Australians hoping to become the third to
lift the trophy.

Ossie Pickworth won the title in 1950, the
second last staging of the tournament before it took a more than 20 year
hiatus, eventually returning to the schedule in 1975.

Brett Rumford became the second Irish Open
champion from Australia when he beat Padraig Harrington and Raphael Jacquelin
by four shots in 2004.

Rumford is again in the field this week
teeing up for the first time since a mid-field finish at the Volvo China Open
earlier this month.

After a major health scare last year
Rumford has been cautious with his schedule in 2016 but has produced several
good results when he has played and will be expecting to play well this week.

Also in the field are Scott Hend, Marcus
Fraser, Andrew Dodt and Richard Green.

Both Dodt and Hend come into the week with
mixed feelings after a torrid AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open last week.

Dodt was cruising in the tournament through
two and a half rounds before being beset by a mini collapse late in the third
round and early in the fourth.

However, he will take confidence from his
final nine fight on Sunday which saw him make two birdies coming home to finish
outright fifth on a brutally difficult golf course.

Hend, too, had his issues late in the
tournament after mounting a mini charge on the front nine on Sunday to get to
the fringes of contention.

Playing aggressively on a course where that
was a dangerous tactic caught up with Hend when he made back to back double
bogeys at the 13^th and 14^th holes to fall down the standings.

However, like Holman, Hend is a high ball
hitter and the course at the K Club will suit his long driving and attacking
iron play.

Marcus Fraser returns to tournament golf
after a three week break, his last outing T2 at the Japan/Asian Tour co-sanctioned
Panasonic Open.

Fraser has been a rejuvenated player in
2016 with a European Tour win in Malaysia to his name while also leading the
Asian Tour Order of Merit.

The final Australian to tee up this week is
veteran Richard Green who has found the going tough since a top-10 finish at
the Australian PGA Championship late last year.

Green is yet to make a cut in four starts
on the European Tour in 2016 though as a three time Euro Tour winner is not
without a chance of turning things around this week.

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