Masahiro Kawamura

Makes his second appearance in The Open, but first for six years, after taking a share of third place in the 36-hole Final Qualifying competition at West Lancashire on July 2 when four Royal Troon places were up for grabs.

The 31-year-old, who had rounds of 70 and 69 to finish only one stroke behind joint-winners Sam Horsfield and amateur Matthew Dodd-Berry, represented Japan in the three-man Eisenhower Trophy World Amateur Team Championship in Buenos Aires in 2010 and turned professional the following year.

It took him only two seasons to win on the Japan Tour, a closing 67 overhauling major winner YE Yang and giving him a one-shot victory in the Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open co-sanctioned with the Asian circuit.

His major debut came at the 2015 US Open and three years after that, he came through the DP World Tour qualifying school.

His best finishes on the circuit were second places at the 2019 Hero Indian Open, 2020 Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Showdown and last year’s Magical Kenya Open, while it was another runner-up finish in the 2018 Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open in his home country that qualified him for Carnoustie.