Portrush field growing

Rickie Fowler will make his 14th Open appearance this summer after claiming the sole qualifying spot on offer at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday.

His return to the County Antrim coast comes courtesy of a tie for seventh at Muirfield Village, Ohio, where one spot was available to the best placed finisher not already exempt for Royal Portrush. World No1 Scottie Scheffler won the tournament for the second year running, finishing four strokes clear of Ben Griffin in second place.

Fowler finished in a share of sixth place the last time The Open was at Portrush in 2019. His best performance at the Championship came at Royal Liverpool in 2014 when he ended the week tied for second.

Joining him at The 153rd Open will be Mikiya Akutsu, Younghan Song and Riki Kawamoto who all qualified via the Mizuno Open in Japan.

Akutsu triumphed in the event, part of the Open Qualifying Series, with a winning 13-under-par tally, four strokes clear of Song and Kawamoto.

It represented a first victory on the Japan Golf Tour for the 30-year-old – and it brings with it a maiden appearance in golf’s original championship.

Kawamoto will also make his first Open appearance this summer, while Song returns after competing at Royal Birkdale in 2017 – where he finished in a tie for 62nd place – and then at Royal Troon last year.