Deadly dozen

The 152nd Open Championship will be a landmark event for amateur golfers, with a remarkable 12 teeing off at Royal Troon.

That is the most since 1987, with five amateurs coming through Final Qualifying, in addition to the various qualifiers through Amateur Championships.

Not only that, Matteo Manassero and Sam Hutsby, who competed in the final of The Amateur Championship in 2009, have also booked their place at Royal Troon, the former doing so on Sunday via the Race to Dubai rankings, while the latter did so at Dundonald Links in Final Qualifying.

They are of course both professionals now, but let us take a closer look at the 12 men who will compete for the Silver Medal.

Jacob Skov Olesen (Denmark)

The first Danish winner of The Amateur Championship, Jacob Skov Olesen booked his spot in style in Ballyliffin.

Olesen has been in the States for four years now, playing college golf for TCU and most recently the University of Arkansas.

And he got the better of Dominic Clemons in the final of The Amateur, winning 4&3 over 36 holes.

Leading by two holes through 18, he stretched that lead to six before having to withstand a comeback from Clemons to clinch victory on the 33rd hole.

Tommy Morrison (USA)

When it comes to tall golfers enjoying success, Tommy Morrison does not have to look far for inspiration. It was only a year ago that Christo Lamprecht won The Amateur Championship and then the Silver Medal at 6ft8.

The 19-year-old Morrison is an inch taller, and booked his place at Royal Troon by winning the European Amateur.

Hailing from the University of Texas, like 2017 Champion Golfer of the Year Jordan Spieth and world number one Scottie Scheffler, Morrison overcame a three-putt on the 18th to win a three-man play-off at the Scandinavian Golf Club in Denmark.

Gordon Sargent (USA)

Gordon Sargent arrives at Royal Troon as the world’s leading amateur, securing his spot at The 152nd Open for topping the men’s world amateur ranking for 2023.

After being awarded a special invitation to play in the 2023 Masters, he qualified for the US Open, making the cut and earning low amateur honours, finishing T39.

This will be his Open debut and comes after he also claimed four points from four in the Walker Cup at St Andrews last year.

Jasper Stubbs (Australia)

While Royal Troon will be a long way from home for Jasper Stubbs, he earned his spot at The Open just two miles from where he lives.

Stubbs won the Asia-Pacific Amateur title at Royal Melbourne, his local course. In each of the last two years, he has reached the last 32 of The Amateur Championship, before falling at the first knockout stage.

The Open will be his second major appearance, having made his debut at the Masters earlier this year, missing the cut.

Santiago de la Fuente (Mexico)

Mexico’s Santiago de la Fuente qualified for The Open by winning the Latin America Amateur Championship in Panama, the second Mexican to do so.

It took a 64 in the final round from De la Fuente to overcome a three-stroke deficit and take victory in January.

He has made two major appearances so far this year, playing the Masters and the US Open, but he is still seeking a first weekend showing after missing the cut in each of those.

Calum Scott (Scotland)

A heartbreaking defeat to eventual champion Olesen at The Amateur Championship denied Calum Scott a first chance at qualifying for Royal Troon.

Two up with four to play, he ended losing to Olesen on the final green, but secured his spot at The 152nd Open through the new Open Amateur Series.

Like his older brother Sandy, Calum has competed in the Walker Cup, doing so at St Andrews last year.

Altin van der Merwe (South Africa)

A victory at the first-ever Africa Amateur Championship allowed Altin van der Merwe to book his place at Royal Troon.

A birdie on 18 earned him a place in a three-way play-off alongside compatriots Christiaan Maas and Ivan Verster. He then repeated the feat in the first hole of the play-off, with his birdie enough to take the title.

Van der Merwe will now look to follow in the footsteps of fellow South African Lamprecht in finishing as the leading amateur at The Open.

Dominic Clemons (England)

Dominic Clemons has had to qualify the hard way for The Open, missing out on a spot at The Amateur Championship to Olesen.

That loss in the final did not appear to affect him as just 10 days after the disappointment, he came through Final Qualifying at Burnham & Berrow.

He did so in illustrious company, with Justin Rose joining Clemons as one of the four qualifiers from the course.

Liam Nolan (Ireland)

An amateur golfer qualified on every course of Final Qualifying, with Ireland’s Liam Nolan the only one to do so at Dundonald Links.

Nolan holed putts of six feet and then five feet for a pair of pars to finish his round on five-under and clinch a spot in the top four.

Now, at the age of 24, he is set for his major championship debut, having taken part in the Walker Cup last year.

Luis Masaveu (Spain)

Luis Masaveu beat Branden Grace, the man who shot the lowest round in Open history in 2017, to win a play-off and take his place at Royal Troon.

The Spaniard’s journey at Royal Cinque Ports was far from straightforward, having to use an old set of clubs after his current set were lost in Denmark a couple of weeks previously.

Masaveu won a three-player play-off against Grace and Jamie Rutherford with a 20ft birdie on the second extra hole.

Jaime Montojo (Spain)

Masaveu was not the only Spaniard celebrating at Royal Cinque Ports as Jaime Montojo also secured a spot at The Open.

Montojo is still only 19 and comes from a family with a rich golfing heritage. His dad played for Spain, while his grandmother won the Spanish Women’s Amateur in 1958.

And at Final Qualifying, it was his mother who was his caddy as the Texas A&M student finished in joint second.

Matty Dodd-Berry (England)

In an ideal world, Matty Dodd-Berry would have come through Final Qualifying a year ago to play his first Open on his home course at Royal Liverpool.

But that will not bother the 20-year-old, who overcame three bogeys in his first four holes to secure a spot at West Lancashire.

That he qualified ahead of former Masters champion Sergio Garcia is an indication of the form Dodd-Berry is in.