Japan's Hideki Matsuyama has confirmed he will play at the Irish Open in July

Matsuyama will make his first appearance at a regular European Tour event.

Hideki Matsuyama is the latest top-10 golfer to confirm he will compete at the Irish Open from 6-9 July.

The Japanese star will join Justin Rose, Jon Rahm, Danny Willett and Rory McIlroy in the field at Portstewart.

The world number four has been in superb form over the past 12 months with three wins on the PGA Tour, including the WGC-HSBC Champions.

This year's Irish Open is one of the eight tournaments on the European Tour's lucrative new Rolex Series.

Matsuyama, 25, has amassed an impressive majors record since turning professional in 2013 with five top-10 finishes and a further two in the top 20.

Matsuyama, who tied for 11th place at the Masters in April, will use the tournament to prepare for The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale from 20-23 July.

"It is important to play some links golf ahead of The Open Championship and I'm sure Portstewart will be the perfect preparation for me," he said.

"I know Rory puts a lot into this tournament and he has done an incredible job raising its profile. I'm really excited and I know it will be a great week."

Matsuyama is the third player in the current top 10 in the world to be named in the Irish Open field - following Rahm and defending champion McIlroy, whose charity, the Rory Foundation, host the event.

Fellow Japanese player Hideto Tanihara has also confirmed he will take part in the tournament, which will feature a record prize fund of nearly £5.5m when it takes place at Portstewart Golf Club for the first time.

The new Rolex Series, which includes the Irish Open, is a premium category of events on the European Tour calendar each with a minimum prize fund of $7m.