David Micheluzzi

Exempt through winning the PGA Tour of Australasia for the 2022-23 season. Was a lowly 1,670th on the world rankings in January last year, but four top 10 finishes in his next six starts meant a leap of over 1,000 places and his climb has continued at pace since then.

In October he took the CKB Western Australia PGA title, then in his first eight tournaments of this year he added two wins, two joint runner-up finishes and a tie for fourth.

The victories came in the TPS Sydney at Bonnie Doon, where he covered the last 10 holes in nine under for a closing 61 and 25 under par aggregate – the best on the circuit for 19 years – and then the New South Wales at Rich River from five back after 54 holes.

Last player to win three times in one campaign was Robert Allenby in 2005. This will be his first Open, but he nearly made it to Royal Portrush four years ago, reaching the semi-finals of the Amateur Championship at Portmarnock before losing to eventual winner James Sugrue.

At seventh in the world he was the top-ranked player in the entire field, having tied for fifth at the previous year’s Australian Open.