Byeong Hun An

The son of table tennis medallists at the 1988 Olympic Games in his home city Seoul, An was only 17 when he became the youngest-ever winner of the US Amateur in 2009 just a year after 18-year-old Danny Lee had taken that record off Tiger Woods.

It earned him an Open debut at St Andrews the following summer and he won himself three more starts by becoming the first Asian golfer to capture the European Tour's BMW PGA Championship in 2015. It was his debut at Wentworth and he fired a sparkling closing 65 to win by six strokes on a record 21 under par. He went on to finish seventh on the Race to Dubai Order of Merit and was named Rookie of the Year.

Only two newcomers had ever finished higher. He has been in two three-man play-offs on the PGA Tour, but had to be content with second place each time and was a runner-up again behind Dustin Johnson at last July’s RBC Canadian Open the week after The Open at Carnoustie. Won on the European Challenge Tour in 2014 and has twice represented Asia at the EurAsia Cup. Qualified off the world rankings on June 24.