BIG JON TOP MAN

make him the man to beat. I played with Jon a few times as an amateur and the one thing I remember was he was very straight for how long he was. That's such a big asset around so many golf courses.

“There are loads of good players playing, so anyone can win this tournament on their day, but he's obviously one of the strong favourites.”

Rahm tees off at 8.20am tomorrow alongside Rafa Cabrera Bello and Graeme Mcdowell, while Rory Mcilroy is grouped with Matthew Fitzpatrick and Thorbjorn Olesen.

Mcdowell hopes to be reunited with his clubs for today's Irish Open pro-am after they were lost on a flight back from last week's French Open.

The former US Open champion, who had to pull out of yesterday's qualifier for The Open at St Annes, said: “Hopefully I'll get hold of my clubs tonight (Tuesday) when they're due to arrive in Dublin.”

Dunne (left), who tees up alongside Alexander Levy and Matt Wallace, hopes to make a splash in only his third Irish Open after a 54th last year and a 60th place finish at the K Club in 2016.

He said: “Hopefully I can feel that expectation at the weekend but I've got to play two good rounds first.”