Tied 12th at Royal St George's last year, missing out on an instant exemption for St Andrews by a single stroke, and had to wait until July 3 to book his place there with a tie for second at the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic, where three spots were up for grabs as part of The Open Qualifying Series.
Climbing into the world’s top 50 earned him a first Open start at Royal Troon in 2016 and he was also joint 12th there.
Returned at Royal Birkdale after qualifying for the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship, then at Carnoustie in 2018 as was one of International captain Nick Price’s two wild cards for the 2017 Presidents Cup. Last year was called in as a reserve when Sungjae Im withdrew on July 2.
He almost won the 2014 Omega Dubai Desert Classic, making a 65-foot eagle putt on the last after his approach over the lake had clattered into a hospitality tent and rebounded onto the green, but Stephen Gallacher pipped him by one.
After ending that year with a six-stroke victory at the Argentina Open he received an invitation to the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open and lost a five-way play-off to Alex Cejka.