Laurie Canter

A commanding four-stroke winner of the 36-hole Final Qualifying event at Royal Porthcawl on July 4, rounds of 69 and 65 taking him to his fourth Open Championship.

He first played in the 2010 Open at St Andrews as an amateur and later recalled: “It was a bit of a baptism for me. I remember very little about the first round other than I went out in a storm – it was pretty brutal, but also very special. When you’ve played a bit of pro golf you know what to expect, but as an amateur it’s all new.”

Turned professional the following year, but it took him until 2017 to return to The Open. He was part of a three-man play-off for the last of three Royal Birkdale spots from the 36-hole Final Qualifying competition at Notts Hollinwell on July 4 and overcame amateurs Rhys Nevin-Wharton and Stefano Mazzoli at the third extra hole.

Is back now thanks to finishing 24th on the DP World Tour’s 2021 “Race to Dubai”, having recorded the third runner-up finish of his career in September’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, where he was pipped by a stroke by American Billy Horschel.

His other second places came in 2020 at the Portugal Masters and Italian Open. As a promising tennis player in his younger days he once played against Andy Murray.