Ockie Strydom

Plays his first Open Championship, indeed his first major, at the age of 38 thanks to topping the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit.

After an incredible 14 second places, Strydom finally broke through on the circuit at the 2019 Vodacom Origins of Golf Sishen. Five more runner-up finishes then followed, but there has been nothing of the “nearly man” to him lately.

In December’s Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek he fired closing rounds of 63 and 69 to beat Spain’s Adrian Otaegui by two and two months later he added the Singapore Classic, another event which is part of the DP World Tour schedule.

That was achieved by one stroke over Finn Sami Valimaki when he finished 67-63, playing a superb chip up a steep bank for a winning closing birdie. On both occasions he stood seven adrift at halfway.

"It's my mindset that's changing at the moment," he said. "When you've been in that situation before you know you can do it again. I was thinking of not being here this week as I was hitting it so badly. My coach and wife said 'maybe it's your week' and look what happened - it was my week!"