Stars of The 149th Open

There was one obvious stand-out performer in The 149th Open, but the Champion Golfer of the Year was certainly not the only player to make a big impact at Royal St George’s.

We look at six players who each shone, in various ways, throughout a thrilling week.

Collin Morikawa

What more can be said about Morikawa’s magnificent display in Sandwich?

In becoming the first man in history to win two majors on debut, the 24-year-old enhanced his burgeoning reputation as one of golf’s biggest talents.

Defying his lack of experience on links courses, the Champion began his week with an impressive 67 that represented one of the best scores by the afternoon starters on Thursday.

He then surged into contention with a second-round 64, the equal-lowest score of the week, before holding his nerve over the weekend to gradually overhaul Louis Oosthuizen and hold off a charging Jordan Spieth.

Morikawa’s famed iron-game prowess was a key factor in his triumph, but he also putted magnificently when the heat was on.

Having only turned professional two years ago, Morikawa already has two of the game’s biggest prizes to his name and it would be no surprise if he triumphed again in a major ahead of defending the Claret Jug in The 150th Open next July.

Louis Oosthuizen

For the third major in succession, Oosthuizen suffered the pain of coming close to victory without getting over the line.

While the South African will understandably be disappointed to have finished in a tie for third, courtesy of a one-over 71 in the final round, his stellar performance from Thursday to Saturday should not be forgotten.

The Champion Golfer of 2010 started the week brilliantly with a bogey-free, six-under 64 and then made history on Friday as a 65 gave him a 36-hole aggregate of 129 – the lowest in the history of The Open.

Under fierce pressure from a chasing pack headed by two fellow major champions in Morikawa and Spieth, Oosthuizen retained his advantage heading into the final day courtesy of a gritty 69.

Although he then came up short on Sunday as Morikawa and Spieth surged past him, there was still so much to admire in Oosthuizen’s overall performance.

Given his outstanding record at St Andrews, where he won by seven strokes 11 years ago before being beaten in a play-off in 2015, Oosthuizen can be expected to be a leading contender when the Claret Jug is next contested in The 150th Open.

Marcel Siem

What a wonderful week it was for Marcel Siem, a player who only earned his place at Royal St George’s on July 11 courtesy of his victory in the Challenge Tour’s Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge.

A former world number 48, Siem slipped out of the world’s top 1,000 last year and was still down at 498 a fortnight ago.

However, his success in France boosted his ranking – as well as securing a first Open appearance since 2015 – and the charismatic German took full advantage of an unexpected opportunity.

Back-to-back scores of 67 had Siem very much in contention at the halfway stage, but it was not only his play that caught the eye. A series of passionate fist pumps endeared the veteran to spectators and ensured Siem quickly became a crowd favourite.

He could not quite maintain his momentum, yet a tie for 15th at five under still represented a fine week's work and he will now hope to build on his fantastic resurgence.

Jonathan Thomson

The man known as ‘Jigger’ added a notable chapter to his inspiring story with a spectacular hole-in-one that helped him inside the cut line in round two.

Thomson, who overcame leukaemia as a child, picked the perfect stage for his ace as he found the target with his tee shot at the 16th, a hole surrounded by grandstands.

The crowd roared with delight as Thomson matched Dustin Johnson’s ace on the same hole 10 years earlier.

After making the cut in his debut major, the 6ft 9in Thomson also produced a moment to savour on the final day, holing a bunker shot at the first.

Matthias Schmid & Yuxin Lin

Matthias Schmid rounded off his decorated amateur career in style at Royal St George’s, posting a two-over aggregate of 282 to claim the Silver Medal, as well as making history in the process.

Schmid’s second-round 65 equalled the lowest score by an amateur in The Open, matching Tom Lewis’ first-round total at the same venue in 2011.

Yet the two-time European Amateur Champion was not the only non-professional to make his mark.

Under huge pressure, China’s Yuxin Lin pulled off a wonderful up-and-down from a greenside bunker on the 18th to make the cut on Friday evening.

Lin received warm applause from a packed grandstand around the first tee as he began his third round the following day, and he had the crowd cheering again during his final-day 71 when he birdied the sixth before holing a huge putt to pick up another stroke on the eighth.

He finished the week at six over, four strokes behind Schmid.