10 Open first timers with a chance to shine

At the time of writing there are 34 players on the start list for the 145th Open Championship who will be making their debut in the great event at Royal Troon. Below we take a closer look at 10 Open first timers who might make an impact.

Against the world’s best, over a tough course in testing (and unfamiliar for many) conditions, it’s undeniably tricky for a player to contend in their first Open Championship. But it has been done. Ben Curtis won on his debut in 2003, Tom Watson, Tony Lema, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead also achieved that feat.

Players from the UK and Ireland making their first starts may have more experience of the links that they could use to their advantage. Amateurs in this country play a good deal of competitive golf over the links. Then there are international players who have made it into this great event via tournaments across the globe. Many of these guys are used to playing in varying conditions on changing surfaces on a weekly basis and are able to adapt their techniques quickly.

Here are 10 Open first timers who might have the necessary skills to put in a good showing on their Open debut this year:

Kevin Chappell (USA)

Age: 29 World Ranking: 32 Qualified by: World Ranking

Credentials: Chappell has had an excellent year on the PGA Tour with second place finishes in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship. He was tied for third in the recent WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. He has mixed it with the top players and will not be intimidated by the occasion. He’s twice finished in the top-10 at the U.S. Open. He is definitely a player that could feature on his Open debut.

Justin Thomas (USA)

Age: 23 World Ranking: 36 Qualified by: World Ranking

Credentials: One of the most talented young players in world golf, Thomas is a great friend of Jordan Spieth. He made a PGA Tour cut as a 16-year-old, won the Walker Cup and has won a PGA Tour event in Malaysia. So we can say – he has the bottle to win, he’s played in big competitions and he has the ability to perform well away from home.

Emiliano Grillo (Arg)

Age: 23 World Ranking: 43 Qualified by: World Ranking

Credentials: After an excellent amateur career, Grillo turned pro in 2011. He’s won over €2,500,000 on the European Tour since then and has won on the PGA Tour – this year’s Frys.com Open. He clearly has the skills and self belief to win at the very highest level.

Smylie Kaufman (USA)

Age: 24 World Ranking: 59 Qualified by: FedEx Cup position

Credentials: He caught the attention of the general public at this year’s Masters where he played in the final group alongside Jordan Spieth. Although he fell away at Augusta, he proved he has Major potential. He’s already a winner on the PGA Tour but his experience of the links is limited.

Royal Troon, the run up to the Open:

Tony Finau (USA)

Age: 27 World Ranking: 80 Qualified by: World Ranking

Credentials: He’s been a professional since 2007 but has really started to come to the fore in the last couple of years. He’s a hugely powerful player who should have the ball-striking ability to cope with Troon’s testing back nine. He won the Puerto Rico Open on the PGA Tour earlier this year and was 10th and 14th in last year’s U.S. Open and UPGA Championships.

Soomin Lee (Kor)

Age: 22 World Ranking: 85 Qualified by: European Tour ranking

Credentials: He’s climbed from outside the top-1500 on the Official World Golf Ranking to inside the top-100 in the space of 12 months. He won on the Korean Tour as an amateur and then defended that tournament as a professional. He won the Shenzhen International on the European Tour earlier this season.

Zander Lombard (RSA)

Age: 21 World Ranking: 252 Qualified by: Second place in Joburg Open

Credentials: He’s enjoyed a good season with a fourth place finish in the Australian PGA last December then a second place in the Joburg Open. He’s a talented young player and he knows a bit about the links. He’s played at Royal Troon before and he was runner-up to Bradley Neil in the 2014 Amateur Championship at Royal Portrush.

Callum Shinkwin (Eng)

Age: 23 World Ranking: 276 Qualified by: 9th place in Open de France

Credentials: He’s not enjoyed huge success on the professional stage yet – his biggest cheque on the European Tour came in this year’s French Open where he was tied 9th. But he had an excellent amateur record. He won the English Amateur of 2013, beating Matt Fitzpatrick in the final. He has good experience of playing links golf.

Jon Rahm

Age: 21 World Ranking: 293 Qualified by: Third place in Quicken Loans National

Credentials: He had an exemption for Royal Troon as the world’s leading amateur player at the end of 2015. But he gave that exemption up by turning professional a week after making the cut at the U.S. Open. The Quicken Loans National was his first professional event and he finished third, earning his place back at Troon. Twice a winner of the Spanish Stroke Play championship and best individual at the Eishenhower Trophy, he’s quite a player.

Jack Senior (Eng)

Age: 27 World Ranking: 548 Qualified by: Winning final qualifying at Hillside

Credentials: He’s won in Scotland before – last year’s Scottish Hydro Challenge on the European Challenge Tour. But, his position on this list largely stems from his amateur career. He won the Lytham Trophy in 2011 and then competed in the Walker Cup at Royal Aberdeen later that year.