Denny McCarthy

First Open Championship appearance came in 2023 at the age of 30 courtesy of an eighth-place finish at the Wells Fargo Championship.

Three Royal Liverpool places were up for grabs as part of the Open Qualifying Series, but six of the players ahead of him were or became exempt along with four more alongside him on nine-under-par.

Four weeks later, McCarthy had a first PGA Tour victory in his sights when he led the Memorial Tournament on the final tee, but bogeyed and then did it again to lose the play-off to Viktor Hovland. Was a runner-up again in April’s Valero Texas Open, where Akshay Bhatia beat him with a birdie at the first extra hole.

Back in 2010, he played alongside Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas in the Junior Ryder Cup at Gleneagles and four years later he partnered Bryson DeChambeau and Beau Hossler to victory in the Eisenhower Trophy World Amateur Team Championship in Japan.

He was their top scorer there on 19-under-par, but Jon Rahm took individual honours on 23-under. A Walker Cup cap at Royal Lytham & St Annes followed for the same American trio the following season.

He also made the cut in the US Open before turning professional and it was back at that event in 2022 that he gave his best major performance, a tie for seventh.