Matt Jones

Earned his place in The 149th Open at Royal St George’s by winning the 2019 Emirates Australian Open by one stroke from Louis Oosthuizen.

Three places were available in the opening leg of The Open Qualifying Series and it was Jones’s second victory at The Australian – his home club – in five years. He was also a joint runner-up, a shot behind Cameron Davis, in 2017.

Jones turned professional in 2001 after being selected among the top 10 players on the American college scene while at Arizona State University. Tied second behind Geoff Ogilvy at the 2010 Australian Open, he grabbed the final place in the 2014 Masters by capturing the Shell Houston Open, sinking a long birdie putt on the final hole and then chipping in to beat Matt Kuchar in a play-off.

In 2015 he led the PGA Championship by two strokes after a second-round 65 and extended that advantage to three before slipping back to joint 21st. His world ranking then dropped to 421st – in 2014 he reached 41st – but he cracked the top 100 again soon after winning his national Open at the end of 2019.

Jones claimed his second PGA Tour success in March 2021, building on an opening-round 61 to win the Honda Classic by five strokes.