The field contains a strong European contingent, including Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, Nicolai Højgaard and Robert MacIntyre and Pablo Larrazabal.
Action begins at 7:30am as Dan Brown, who had an impressive Open performance, Rikuya Hoshino, Marco Penge, Casey Jarvis, Thorbjorn Olesen and Alex Fitzpatrick tee off.
Speaking about the Irish fans, McIlroy said: “I always appreciate the unbelievable support that I get from home and everyone around here. But I haven’t played as well as I want to when I come back and play these events at home. So hopefully, this year that can change.”
Viewers can tune into the action on either RTE 2 or Sky Sports Golf from Thursday morning.
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