Taichi Kho

Amid emotional scenes at the Hong Kong Golf Club in March, 22-year-old Kho, a professional for a mere two months and ranked 1,273rd in the world, became the first home player to lift an Asian Tour title.

And the big bonus of his success in the World City Championship was that four Open places were on offer as part of the Qualifying Series.

He beat New Zealander Michael Hendry by two for the perfect end to a week which saw him announced as an ambassador for the club and Hong Kong staging its first international event for three years.

After only his third event on the Asian circuit – he came through the qualifying school in January - he said: “I definitely wasn’t fearless – I was nervous, which was perfectly natural in the moment. I said to myself that I will be a better player by the end of it.”

He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and had two runner-up finishes on the college circuit last year in reaching a high of 67th on the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

The Open will not be his first trip to England – he tied for 25th in last June’s International Series event at Slaley Hall in Northumberland.