Ewen Ferguson

Made his Open debut last year, but had still not secured his place at Royal Troon until he won the BMW International Open in Germany on July 7 to edge Adrian Otaegui out of the fifth and last qualifying spot from this season’s DP World Tour rankings.

It was Ferguson's third title on the circuit, the first two coming during a 2022 season that saw him finish 17th in the Race to Dubai.

In 2013 he became the first Scot to win the Boys' Amateur Championship in almost a decade and a year later he helped his country win the European Team Championship in Sweden.

Ferguson also beat world No 2 amateur Maverick McNealy in Great Britain and Ireland’s 2015 Walker Cup victory at Royal Lytham and St Annes.

He recorded three runner-up finishes on the Challenge Tour in 2021 and at eighth on their rankings earned promotion to the main circuit. Success quickly followed.

At the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters he overturned a three-stroke final round deficit and birdied the par-5 last to win by one and then he became the first Scot to win more than once in a season since Paul Lawrie in 2012 when he took the ISPS HANDA World Invitational by three.