Over a hundred players under par after the first day of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open on the Causeway Coast and yet Rory McIlroy isn't one of them.

Rory McIlroy came to Portstewart determined to separate himself from the rest of the world’s top stars.

Money is the barometer of success in professional golf and while Paul Dunne would love to tee it up in The Open in a fortnight, his major challenge is to conquer the narrow fairways of Portstewart’s Strand Course this week and get his hands on as much of the $7 million (€6.17m) prize fund as he can.