Nathan Kimsey

Nathan Kimsey earned his Open debut courtesy of a joint second-place finish in 36-hole Final Qualifying at Royal Cinque Ports.

It means Kimsey will tee it up on the same Royal Portrush course where his girlfriend Lauren Taylor won The Women’s Amateur 14 years ago, before joining the Ladies European Tour.

“I’ll get some tips,” said Kimsey, who turned professional himself in 2014. “I’m absolutely buzzing – I’ve dreamed of playing in The Open.”

He was a member of the 2013 Walker Cup side alongside Matt Fitzpatrick and Jordan Smith, halving with Justin Thomas in the opening-day singles.

The same year he also helped England win the European title and since then has both won the DP World Tour qualifying school and topped the HotelPlanner Tour Order of Merit after winning the Grand Final.

He was within touching distance of victory in the Barbasol Championship in 2023, losing a play-off to Vincent Norrman on the same day that Rory McIlroy was lifting the Scottish Open.