Max Greyserman

Max Greyserman made his major debut in the 2017 US Open, but Royal Portrush represents his first Open appearance after a climb into the world’s top 50.

He has yet to win on the PGA Tour, but in six starts in the second-half of last year recorded three runner-up finishes and a fourth place. That purple patch began at the 3M Open, where he fired a closing 63 after teeing off in the final round eight strokes adrift of Jhonattan Vegas and lost by only one.

Two weeks later on his next outing it was Aaron Rai who denied him at the Wyndham Championship, Greyserman running up a quadruple bogey eight on the 14th when four clear – he had holed his approach for an eagle two on the previous hole – and then four-putting the 16th.

Two months later he was in contention again at the Zozo Championship, but was pipped by Nicolas Echavarria.

His mother was a tennis scholar at Rutgers University in New Jersey, but it was in golf that he and his brother Reed both won the state amateur title.