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From the favorites to the long shots: Breaking down the entire field at The Open

By admin Jul17,2024

  • Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior WriterJul 15, 2024, 09:00 AM ET

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    • Senior college football writer
    • Author of seven books on college football
    • Graduate of the University of Georgia

TROON, Scotland — The 152nd Open, the last major championship of the season in men’s golf, tees off Thursday at Royal Troon Golf Course on Scotland’s west coast.

It’s the last chance this season to win a major championship — the tournaments that separate legendary golfers from everyone else.

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For Masters winner Scottie Scheffler, PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele and U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau, it’s a chance to add a second title to an already remarkable season.

For Rory McIlroy, it’s one more opportunity to end a nearly decade-long drought without a victory in the big four.

“It’s hard to explain and it sounds negative, but it’s like, ‘If I don’t win this, it’s another year without a major,'” said two-time PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas. “It’s just the unfortunate reality. We only get four tries in a year. And then once it’s done, all right, got to wait until next year.”

Here is a closer look at the golfers in The Open field, from the legitimate contenders, dark horses, past champions and amateurs.

Jump to a section:
The guys who can win
If everything goes right
Hey, miracles happen
Happy to make the cut
Past champions
Amateurs

TIER I: The guys who can win

Bryson DeChambeau won his second major the U.S. Open in June. David Cannon/Getty Images

Here are the legitimate contenders to win The Open. They have the games, guts and nerves to handle four pressure-packed rounds in potentially rainy and windy conditions.

Scottie Scheffler
The world No. 1 golfer bounced back from a so-so performance at the U.S. Open by winning for the sixth time in 2024 at the Travelers Championship. Tiger Woods was the last golfer to win seven times in a season on the PGA Tour (2007). The Open is the only major in which Scheffler hasn’t finished in the top three; his best finish was a tie for eighth at Royal St. George’s in England in 2021.

Bryson DeChambeau
The “People’s Champion” makes his way to Scotland, where he’ll try to improve his track record on links courses. DeChambeau tied for eighth at St. Andrews in the 2022 Open Championship, but his results have otherwise been nondescript with two missed cuts and three finishes outside the top 30. Still, other than Scheffler, no other golfer has played better this year.

Rory McIlroy
The 2014 Open Championship winner will once again try to end his nearly 10-year drought without a major championship victory. He came up painfully short at the U.S. Open, missing two short putts in the final three holes, to extend his drought to 0-for-37 in the big four. He tied for fifth at the 2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon.

Xander Schauffele
For as good as Schauffele has been in majors, The Open has largely been the exception. He tied for second at Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland in 2018 but hasn’t finished in the top 15 in four starts since. Still, the reigning PGA Championship winner captured the 2023 Scottish Open, so it’s not like links golf doesn’t suit his eye.

Ludvig Åberg
Royal Troon places a premium on ball-striking, and few are better in the world than the 24-year-old Åberg. The former Texas Tech star ranks ninth on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: approach (.587) and seventh in proximity to the hole (35 feet, 1 inch). It’s his debut at The Open, but he wasn’t overwhelmed by Augusta National or the other two majors so far.

The Open Championship Odds

Collin Morikawa
After becoming the first golfer since Bobby Jones to win two different majors in his first eight starts by capturing the 2020 PGA Championship and 2021 Open Championship at Royal St. George’s in England, Morikawa missed the cut in each of his past two starts at The Open. He was very good in the first three majors this year, playing in the final Sunday pairing at both the Masters and PGA Championship, so he seems close to adding a third major to his résumé.

Cameron Smith
The Australian won The Open the last time it was played in Scotland at the Old Course in St. Andrews in 2022. He’ll be a threat in a major if his putter is working well, as evidenced by his five top-10 finishes at the Masters. He was runner-up in two LIV Golf League events this season.

Viktor Hovland
Until his struggles earlier this season, Hovland might have been the favorite to lift the Claret Jug on Sunday. He has three straight top-15s at The Open, including a tie for fourth at St. Andrews in 2022. Hovland has been hitting the ball better since reuniting with swing coach Joe Mayo.

Jon Rahm
Last week, Rahm graded his performance this season as a “six or seven” out of 10 after he tied for 45th at the Masters, missed the cut at the PGA Championship and had to pull out of the U.S. Open because of an infected foot. Rahm insists LIV Golf’s relaxed 54-hole format hasn’t affected him, but his results so far suggest otherwise.

Brian Harman
At Royal Liverpool in England last year, Harman ran away from the field for a six-shot victory, the second-largest margin of victory by an American golfer at The Open. Tiger holds the record, winning by eight at St. Andrews in 2000. Harman’s form has been a little inconsistent this year, but the weather forecast for Troon doesn’t look great, which is just how he likes it.

Cameron Young
Young still hasn’t won on the PGA Tour, but he just produced a 59 at the Travelers Championship and has two top-10s in as many Open starts. In his Open debut at St. Andrews two years ago, he posted a 65 in the final round and lost to Cameron Smith by 1. If Young’s short game and putting were better, he’d probably have a few titles under his belt.

Brooks Koepka
The five-time major champion was uncharacteristically mediocre in the first three this season, tying for 45th at the Masters and for 26th at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open. Reporters can’t wait to break down the differences between bentgrasses in the U.S. and Scotland with him.

Tom Kim
Kim’s game has been heating up — he tied for fourth at the Canadian Open and lost to Scheffler in a playoff at the Travelers Championship. Last year, Kim tore ligaments in his right ankle in an accident at his rental house and nearly pulled out of The Open. He gutted it out and tied for second, becoming the youngest golfer to finish in the top two at The Open since Seve Ballesteros in 1976.

Tommy Fleetwood
Fleetwood was the first-round co-leader and in second after 36 holes before fading on the weekend at Royal Liverpool and tying for 10th at 4 under last year. It was his third top-10 in his past four starts at The Open. His longtime caddie, Ian Finnis, is back on his bag after undergoing open-heart surgery earlier this year.

Tyrrell Hatton
The Englishman struggled at The Open early in his career, but turned things around with a tie for fifth at Royal Troon in 2016. He finished 16 shots behind winner Henrik Stenson. Hatton tied for ninth at the Masters in April and won a LIV Golf League event in Nashville by six shots on June 23.

Robert MacIntyre
The 27-year-old’s breakthrough on the PGA Tour came with a victory at the RBC Canadian Open on June 2 — and then he won the Scottish Open, the tournament that might matter most to him, on Sunday. He’ll be a heavy crowd favorite at Royal Troon, as he’s a Scotsman through and through. MacIntyre has a good track record in The Open, tying for sixth at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland in 2019 and for eighth at Royal St. George’s in 2021. The last Scot to win The Open was Paul Lawrie in 1999.

Tony Finau
After a mediocre stretch for more than two years in the majors, Big Tone turned things around with a tie for third at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2. In his 2016 Open debut, he was in the top six after each of the first rounds at Royal Troon before tying for 18th at even par.

Shane Lowry
The 2019 Open Championship winner at Royal Portrush, Lowry has quietly put together a stellar stretch of 11 top-25 finishes in his past 15 starts in majors. He tied for sixth at the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club after posting a 9-under 62 in the third round.

Max Homa
Homa’s tie for 10th at the 2023 Open seemed like a breakthrough for him in the four majors. He tied for third at the Masters in April, another step in the right direction after scuffling a bit lately.

Matt Fitzpatrick
The 2022 U.S. Open champion might have been pressing too much at The Open in the past. In seven previous starts as a pro, he had just two top-25s. Perhaps his victory in the 2023 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the Old Course will help him turn things around.

Patrick Cantlay
Cantlay, the eighth-ranked golfer in the world, has taken some heat for his no-shows in the majors. That changed at the U.S. Open when he tied for third at 4 under, two strokes behind DeChambeau. It was Cantlay’s fifth top-10 in a major in 27 starts as a pro. He tied for eighth at the 2022 Open Championship, his lone top-10 in the event.

Jason Day
The Australian was the No. 1 golfer in the world the last time The Open was played at Royal Troon; he tied for 22nd. He was in a four-way tie for second at Royal Liverpool a year ago.

Sepp Straka
Straka, who was born in Austria and raised in Georgia (the state, not the country), was trending well before the U.S. Open. He tied for second at Royal Liverpool last year as well, his best finish in a major.

Tier II: If everything goes right

Justin Thomas has struggled at The Open in the past. Luke Walker/Getty Images

Here are the sleeper candidates to lift the Claret Jug. The list includes past major champions, rising stars and other players whose games have been works in progress so far this season. Will it all come together at Royal Troon this week?

Justin Thomas
JT’s results have been better lately, but The Open has never fit his eye. In seven career starts, he has three missed cuts and three finishes of 40th or worse. He tied for 11th at Royal Portrush in 2019.

Jordan Spieth
Since 2015, Spieth had seven top-25 finishes in eight starts at The Open, including a victory at Royal Birkdale in England in 2017. There’s no question a nagging wrist injury has affected his game this season; he hasn’t finished in the top 25 since a tie for 10th at the Valero Texas Open on April 7.

Sahith Theegala
Theegala has put together a great season so far, with nine top-25s and six top-10s in his first 19 starts. He tied for fourth at the Scottish Open at 14 under. He was ninth in Ryder Cup points for the U.S. last week.

Min Woo Lee
The Chef has enjoyed his time in Scotland, even jumping in on a popular social media trend last week. He won the 2021 Scottish Open and can get things heated up in a hurry.

Hideki Matsuyama
The Japanese golfer has more than enough talent to contend but has rarely done it at The Open. After tying for sixth in his debut at Muirfield Golf Club in Scotland in 2013, he hasn’t had a top-10 in eight starts since.

Wyndham Clark
The majors haven’t been kind to the 2023 U.S. Open champion this year. He missed the cut at the Masters and PGA Championship and tied for 56th at the U.S. Open. Driving accuracy continues to plague him.

Dustin Johnson
Here are DJ’s results in the past four majors: missed cut at the 2023 Open Championship, missed cut at the Masters, tie for 43rd at the PGA Championship and missed cut at the U.S. Open. He had back-to-back top-10s in The Open before missing the weekend at Royal Liverpool.

Matthieu Pavon
Pavon, from France, was solo fifth at the U.S. Open, his best finish in a major. He spent seven years on the DP World Tour and is more than familiar with links golf.

Corey Conners
Conners is among the best ball flushers in the world. He has slowly adjusted to links courses in four career starts in The Open with a career-best tie for 15th in 2021.

Aaron Rai
Rai, known for wearing golf gloves on both hands, has shown signs of breaking through on the PGA Tour with five straight finishes inside the top 20. He won the 2020 Scottish Open and tied for 19th at the 2019 Open.

Nicolai Højgaard
Half of the Højgaard twins from Denmark, Nicolai had the solo lead briefly during the third round of the Masters in his Augusta National debut. Yeah, he’s that good.

Harris English
English already has a pair of top-25s in majors this season, tying for 22nd at the Masters and for 18th at the PGA Championship. He missed the cut in his past two starts at The Open.

Louis Oosthuizen
The LIV Golf League captain from South Africa was once a top-10 machine in the majors. He won the 2010 Open Championship at the Old Course, one of his six top-25s in 16 starts.

Akshay Bhatia
While Harman was running away from the field at Royal Liverpool last year, Bhatia was preparing for his breakout moment at the opposite-field Barracuda Championship. He defeated Patrick Rodgers in a playoff for his first PGA Tour win. This is his Open Championship debut.

Davis Thompson
Thompson is coming on strong in his second full season on the PGA Tour — he tied for ninth at the U.S. Open and won his first tour event at the John Deere Classic. He ranks in the top 10 in strokes gained: total and around the green.

Joaquín Niemann
The immensely talented LIV Golf League captain from Chile has never finished in the top 50 at The Open. He has been trending the right way in majors the past two years.

Justin Rose
The 43-year-old hasn’t made much noise in The Open since a tie for second at Carnoustie in 2018. Does Rose have a little magic left in his bag? He would be the first golfer from England to win The Open since Nick Faldo in 1992.

Ryan Fox
Fox, from New Zealand, has victories at the Irish Open and Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on the DP World Tour. That hasn’t correlated to The Open, for some reason, as he has just one top-25 finish in seven starts.

Sam Burns
Did Burns exorcise his majors demons with a tie for ninth at the U.S. Open? It was his first top-10 finish in the big four in 17 career starts. His best finish in The Open was a tie for 42nd at St. Andrews two years ago.

Keegan Bradley
The new U.S. Ryder Cup team captain might not get a warm welcome in Scotland. He missed the cut in each of his past four starts at The Open.

Adam Scott
The 43-year-old golfer from Australia hasn’t had a top-10 finish at a major since the 2019 U.S. Open.

Sungjae Im
The well-traveled Im hasn’t fared well on links courses but did seem to have a bit of a breakthrough at Royal Liverpool last year with a final-round 67 that helped him tie for 20th.

Chris Kirk
Kirk picked up his sixth PGA Tour victory at the season-opening Sentry in Hawaii in January. He missed the cut in three of his past four Open starts.

Russell Henley
Henley is one of the better iron players and putters on the PGA Tour, which makes his lack of success in The Open — one top-25 in nine starts — a little surprising.

Dean Burmester
Burmester tied for 11th at the 2022 Open Championship. He won a LIV Golf League event in Miami in April and tied for 12th at the PGA Championship.

Tier III: Hey, miracles happen

Byeong Hun An is in the top 10 in FedEx Cup points. Luke Walker/Getty Images

These are the long shots. This tier includes aging former major champions, players still searching for their form and some first-timers.

Byeong Hun An
Known as Ben An, the South Korean golfer has played consistently well this season and climbed into the top 10 in FedEx Cup points. He tied for 23rd at Royal Liverpool last year, his best finish at The Open.

Si Woo Kim
The four-time PGA Tour winner has never had a top-10 finish in 30 starts in majors.

Rickie Fowler
Nothing seems to be working right now for the six-time PGA Tour winner. He went into last week ranked 103rd or worse in strokes gained: putting, approach, off the tee, around the green and total. That’s not a recipe for success.

Will Zalatoris
Zalatoris was one of the best golfers in the world before back surgery sidelined him for much of 2023. His comeback has been a roller coaster at times. He pulled out of the third round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic on June 29 with a hip injury.

Jordan Smith
A two-time winner on the DP World Tour, Smith made the cut in each of his past two starts at The Open.

Brendon Todd
Todd tied for 12th at 9 under in his second Open Championship at St. Andrews in 2015, his best finish in a major.

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Alex Noren
Noren was a late qualifier for The Open by tying for 10th at 13 under at the Scottish Open. He has two career top-10s and tied for 23rd at Royal Liverpool last year.

Abraham Ancer
Ancer, who picked up a LIV Golf League win in Hong Kong on March 10, hasn’t had much success in The Open.

Denny McCarthy
One of the best putters in the world, the 31-year-old is making just his second start at The Open.

J.T. Poston
Poston finished in the top 25 in eight of his 18 starts on tour this season. He’s very good with a wedge or putter in his hands.

Lucas Glover
The six-time PGA Tour winner missed the cut in three of his past four Open starts.

Stephan Jaeger
Jaeger, who picked up his first PGA Tour win earlier this year and tied for 21st at the U.S. Open, is making his Open debut.

Austin Eckroat
A four-time All-American at Oklahoma State, Ekroat is making his Open debut. He tied for 10th at last year’s U.S. Open and for 18th at the PGA Championship in May.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout
The South African is a former Alfred Dunhill Links champion, but that success hasn’t correlated to The Open yet.

Kurt Kitayama
Kitayama’s lone top-10 finish on tour this season was a tie for eighth at the WM Phoenix Open in February.

Laurie Canter
Canter, who captured the European Open in early June, his first DP World Tour victory, tied for 17th at the 2023 Open.

Stewart Cink
Near the 15th anniversary of his only major championship win at the 2009 Open at Turnberry, Cink will be making his 25th start in the tournament. He tied for 23rd last year.

Billy Horschel
Horschel’s slow climb back to good form continues at Royal Troon. He has one top-25 finish in nine previous starts at The Open.

David Puig
The former Arizona State star, now playing at LIV Golf, is making his Open Championship debut.

Eric Cole
Cole, who missed the cut at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open, is making his Open Championship debut.

Adam Hadwin
The Canadian qualified for The Open with a third-place finish at the Memorial in June.

Maverick McNealy
McNealy has been building his form since returning from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for four months in 2023.

Ben Griffin
Griffin was solo second at the RBC Canadian Open on June 2, matching his best finish on the PGA Tour.

Emiliano Grillo
Grillo’s form hasn’t been great this season, but he tied for sixth at Royal Liverpool last year, thanks to an opening-round 66.

Ryo Hisatsune
A four-time worldwide winner, Hisatsune tied for 18th at the PGA Championship at Valhalla. This is his Open Championship debut.

Tom Hoge
Hoge is one of the more underrated golfers on the PGA Tour, but he hasn’t found success in The Open with two missed cuts.

Taylor Moore
Moore, who tied for 20th at the Masters and for 12th at the PGA Championship, missed the cut in his first Open last year.

Nick Taylor
A four-time winner on the PGA Tour, Taylor missed the cut in each of his past eight starts in majors.

Rasmus Højgaard
Rasmus has been somewhat overshadowed by his identical twin Nicolai, but he has won four times on the DP World Tour — one more than his brother.

Mackenzie Hughes
Hughes tied for sixth at Royal St. George’s in 2021, his lone top-10 finish in 19 starts in majors.

Matthew Jordan
At last year’s Open, while playing on his home course at Royal Liverpool, Jordan tied for 10th at 4 under.

Victor Perez
The Frenchman is a sneaky-good player who tied for 41st at Royal Liverpool last year.

Adrian Meronk
Meronk was the DP World Tour Player of the Year in 2023 before jumping to LIV Golf. He tied for 23rd at Royal Liverpool last year and missed the cut in the first three majors this season.

Romain Langasque
The 2015 Amateur Championship winner made the cut in three of his first four Opens, tying for 33rd last year. He was solo third at the Scottish Open at 15 under.

Shubhankar Sharma
The Indian golfer is 3-for-3 in made cuts at The Open, including a tie for eighth last year.

Marcel Siem
The 43-year-old collected his sixth DP World Tour win at the Italian Open on June 30.

Thriston Lawrence
The South African golfer won twice and finished in the top 20 in points in each of the past two seasons on the DP World Tour.

Gary Woodland
Woodland, still making his way back from brain surgery, has shown signs of returning to form but hasn’t gotten the results yet.

Matteo Manassero
The Italian was ranked among the top 25 golfers in the world more than a decade ago and has been trying to work his way back ever since. His form has been good lately, and he played well in the Scottish Open.

Thorbjørn Olesen
He ended a nearly four-year drought without a victory on the DP World Tour by winning last year’s British Masters.

Matthew Southgate
The 35-year-old golfer from England has three top-25s in six Open starts, including a tie for 23rd last year.

Matt Wallace
The fiery English golfer tied for second in last year’s DP World Tour Championship. He has one top-10 on the PGA Tour this season.

Richard Mansell
Mansell was among the last three golfers to make the field by tying for 10th at 13 under at the Scottish Open. He made the cut in his past two starts at The Open.

Tier IV: Happy to make the cut

Mason Andersen is coming off a Korn Ferry Tour win in March. Andrew Wevers/Getty Images

They aren’t expected to be among the contenders unless something magical happens in Scotland this week.

Mason Andersen
The former Arizona State golfer won a Korn Ferry Tour event in Portugal in March and is still in the top 10 in points on that circuit.

Alexander Björk

Denwit Boriboonsub
Last year, as a 19-year-old, Boriboonsub won in three straight events, including the Saudi Open on the Asian Tour.

Dan Bradbury

Daniel Brown
Jorge Campillo
John Catlin

Alex Cejka
The 53-year-old is playing in his first Open since 2008 after defeating Padraig Harrington in a playoff at the 2023 Senior Open Championship.

Sean Crocker

Joe Dean
In February, Dean was a part-time grocery delivery driver and ranked 2,930th in the world. Then he finished second in the Kenyan Open on the DP World Tour. He is now 253rd in the world and playing in his second Open.

Nacho Elvira
Ewen Ferguson
Darren Fichardt
Sam Hutsby
Aguri Iwasaki

Michael Hendry
Hendry will be easy to cheer for this week. He missed last year’s Open Championship after he was diagnosed with leukemia in April. He is now cancer-free and playing on a medical exemption. He previously represented New Zealand in the Under-19 Cricket World Cup.

Daniel Hillier
Sam Horsfield
Rikuya Hoshino

Angel Hidalgo
The Spanish golfer made The Open by jarring a 120-yard eagle on the final hole of 36-hole qualifying on July 2.

Yuto Katsuragawa
Masahiro Kawamura
Minkyu Kim
Ryosuke Kinoshita

Kazuma Kobori
Earlier this year, Kobori, from New Zealand, matched Tiger Woods by winning three times in his first 10 starts after turning pro on the PGA Tour of Australasia. He earned an exemption on the DP World Tour for the 2025 season.

Tom McKibbin

Jack McDonald
McDonald, from Scotland, is the grandson of Gordon Cosh, who competed in the famous “Duel in the Sun” Open at Turnberry in 1977. McDonald is making his Open debut.

Guntaek Koh
Joost Luiten

Charlie Lindh
Lindh, ranked 777th in the world, outlasted LIV Golf League competitor Anirban Lahiri in a playoff to win a spot in a qualifier. Lindh, from Sweden, competed on the Nordic Golf Tour last year.

Guido Migliozzi
Keita Nakajima
Vincent Norrman
Andy Ogletree
C.T. Pan
Yannik Paul

Adam Schenk
After reaching the Tour Championship last season, the past few months have been a grind for Schenk. He withdrew or missed the cut in six of his past seven starts.

Sebastian Söderberg
Younghan Song
Jesper Svensson

Elvis Smylie
Smylie’s mother, Liz, captured the Wimbledon women’s doubles title with Kathy Jordan in 1985 and the mixed doubles crown with John Fitzgerald six years later. The left-handed golfer from Australia is making his Open debut.

Ryan van Velzen
Sami Välimäki
Jeung-Hun Wang

Tier V: Past champions

It’ll be 30 years next year since John Daly’s 1995 Open victory. Mike Mulholland/Getty Images

Past Open champions 60 or younger on July 21 earned exemptions into the field. This tier includes past champions who aren’t listed above. Past champions Ben Curtis and Paul Lawrie elected not to play.

Darren Clarke

John Daly
Daly, who won the 1995 Open at the Old Course, last made the cut when he tied for 81st in 2012.

Ernie Els
“The Big Easy,” a two-time Open winner at Muirfield in 2002 and Royal Lytham and St. Annes in 2012, last made the cut with a tie for 32nd in 2019. He won twice in June on the PGA Tour Championship circuit.

Todd Hamilton
In 2004, Hamilton pulled off one of golf’s most unlikely upsets when he defeated Els in a four-hole playoff at Royal Troon to capture the Claret Jug. He had spent 12 seasons on the Japan Tour before earning his PGA Tour card at age 38 at the end of 2003.

Padraig Harrington
The two-time Open Championship winner is still playing well at times, winning twice on the PGA Tour Champions circuit this year and tying for 27th at the 2023 U.S. Open. He tied for 64th at Royal Liverpool last year.

Zach Johnson

Justin Leonard
In 1997, Leonard started the final round of The Open trailing Jesper Parnevik by five strokes. Leonard carded a 5-under 66 and won by three. The Texan became only the third player to come back from five strokes behind on the final day to win.

Phil Mickelson
Mickelson, the 2013 Open Championship winner at Muirfield, said this about his three-stroke loss to Henrik Stenson at Troon three years later: “[It’s] the only time I can remember in my career where I played my absolute best golf and it wasn’t enough to win.”

Francesco Molinari

Henrik Stenson
Stenson’s 8-under 63 in the final round of the 2016 Open matched the lowest score in a men’s major and his 20-under total matched the lowest 72-hole score in a major.

Tiger Woods
Even when Tiger’s game was at its best, Royal Troon wasn’t his favorite course in the Open rotation. He tied for 24th in his first Open as a pro in 1997, matching the course record with a 64 in the third round but sandwiching it with 74s in the second and final rounds. Seven years later, he tied for ninth at 3 under, seven shots behind Hamilton and was never much of a factor. He missed the 2016 Open while recovering from back surgery.

Tier VI: Amateurs

Dominic Clemons was dominant at the Scottish Men’s Open last month. Luke Walker/R&A/R&A via Getty Images

Here are the amateur players who will attempt to do what stars such as McIlroy, Rose, Woods and so many others did at The Open before turning pro — winning a silver medal as the low amateur.

Dominic Clemons
The Stetson University golfer won the Scottish Men’s Open by a whopping 17 strokes on June 2.

Santiago de la Fuente
Matthew Dodd-Berry

Luis Masaveu
Masaveu, from Spain, survived a three-for-one playoff in qualifying despite playing with old clubs after losing his bag in Denmark. He outlasted LIV Golf League competitor Branden Grace in the playoff.

Jaime Montojo
Liam Nolan

Tommy Morrison
A sophomore at Texas last season, Morrison punched his ticket to Troon by becoming the first American to win the European Amateur on June 29. At 6-foot-9, he’s difficult to miss on the course.

Jacob Skov Olesen

Gordon Sargent
Sargent, the world No. 1 amateur, is returning to Vanderbilt for his senior season this fall instead of joining the PGA Tour. He missed the cut at the U.S. Open.

Calum Scott
Jasper Stubbs
Altin van der Merwe

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