Ren Yonezawa

Ren Yonezawa secured a major debut at Royal Birkdale when he tied for second in the Mizuno Open, part of the Open Qualifying Series, at the end of May.

Yonezawa had suffered disappointment at the same event 12 months earlier as he missed out on securing one of the three qualifying places by a single stroke.

Yet he overcame that pain in admirable fashion at the 2026 Mizuno Open, tying for second behind Shaun Norris as a final-round 67 lifted him to 19-under and three clear of a trio of players who shared fourth.

A two-time winner on the Japan Golf Tour in 2024, Yonezawa added a third title in April when he defeated Younghan Song in a play-off to claim the Maesawa Cup.