Julian Tutt - June 29, 2012

• By Morning Drive Team
• Jun 29, 2012 8:46 AM ET

European Tour Analyst Julian Tutt is in Portrush, Northern Ireland this week for The Irish Open. Like many players, this is his first trip to Royal Portrush and despite the inclement weather so far this week, the scores are very low so far and in general people are surprised at the number of birdies that have been made so far. The rain has softened the greens which has made the course a bit easier but Royal Portrush member Darren Clarke has said that tournament organizers should not be concerned about the level of difficulty of the course because the weather will take care of those concerns.

Big Break Ireland Winner Mark Murphy got off to a great start with a 3-under-par 69 in the first round but the second round will be a great test for him. Murphy’s main goal this week should be to finish in the top 10 because then he will be exempt into the French Open next week. While Murphy is not among the biggest names, he is certainly getting some attention.

Of all of the big names from Northern Ireland in the field, Rory McIlroy is getting the most attention among the trio of Northern Irish Major Champions. While McDowell and Clarke are getting a lot of attention, McIlroy just brings something extra and the fact that his girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki is attendance this week makes McIlroy an even bigger attraction.