Mackenzie Hughes

Back in the Championship thanks to a tie for seventh in his home RBC Canadian Open at the start of June. Three places were on offer as part of The Open Qualifying Series, but five of the players who finished ahead of Hughes were already exempt.

With four sub-70 rounds Hughes tied for sixth on his debut at Royal St George's in 2021 to guarantee himself an instant return.

That came only a month after he was the joint 54-hole leader at the US Open and although he slipped back to 15th it represented a welcome return to form after five successive missed cuts.

Twice a winner of the Canadian amateur title, Hughes was also part of the three-man national side which tied for sixth at the 2012 Eisenhower Trophy World Team Championship.

He attended Kent State University in Ohio, like 2003 Champion Golfer Ben Curtis.

Hughes has won on the Canadian Tour, Web.com Tour and PGA Tour, his success on the latter coming at the 2016 RSM Classic after a five-man play-off. It was only his fifth start as a member of the circuit and catapulted him from 287th on the world rankings to 110th.