Davis Thompson

Davis Thompson had still to qualify for Royal Troon last year when he won his first PGA Tour title at the John Deere Classic, where two places were up for grabs as part of The Open Qualifying Series.

He did so with a tournament record 28 under par total, four ahead of runner-up CT Pan.

It came only three weeks after he tied for ninth in the US Open and just three years after he was part of the victorious United States side at the Walker Cup in Florida.

He stood third on the amateur world rankings at the time and had previously spent eight weeks as number one.

After turning professional he was runner-up to Jon Rahm in the 2023 American Express event and his place at Royal Portrush was confirmed on July 7 due to his position in the world rankings.

At 6ft 4ins is one of the tallest players on tour, and back in 2016 helped Lee-Scott Academy in Auburn, Alabama, win the boys basketball state title.