Benjamin Hebert

Hebert played in the 2008 Open as European Amateur Champion, then had to wait 11 years not only for his next Open Championship, but also his next major.

He could not have left it later to gain a place in the field at Royal Portrush. Three spots were on offer at the previous week’s ASI Scottish Open and he closed with a nine-under-par 62 before losing in a play-off against Bernd Wiesberger.

Hebert also came close to winning the 2018 Belgian Knockout, being beaten in the final of the nine-hole competition by Adrian Otaegui, and lost in two other play-offs in 2019 – first in the Volvo China Open against Mikko Korhonen, then at the Turkish Airlines Open, where he was part of a six-way tie.

In 2014 he won three Challenge Tour titles, making him the first player to do that in two different seasons on the circuit. He played for the French amateur team for three years, representing them in the 2008 Eisenhower Trophy World Amateur Team Championship.

His parents are Jean-Luc, a former pentathlete, and Françoise, a former swimmer, and he spent some of his teenage years in Tahiti.