The final men's Major Championship of the season is upon us.
Of the 156 players teeing up in The Open at Royal Birkdale, 41 are making their debut in golf's oldest tournament.
From that list, 12 are DP World Tour members fulfilling a career goal and here, we take a whistlestop look at them.
| Player | Age | Country | World Ranking | Race to Dubai Ranking | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ángel Ayora | 21 | Spain | 111 | 22 | Blessed with a swing that is the envy of many, he registered a season's best ten top tens to finish 20th on the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World in 2025 to earn his spot at this year's Open and made his Major debut at the US PGA Championship in May. |
| Eugenio Chacarra | 26 | Spain | 59 | 3 | Won back-to-back DP World Tour titles in the Netherlands and Italy, with the second of those earning him his place in this week's field and he appears set to continue his career development by becoming a dual member with the PGA TOUR at the end of the season. |
| Hennie du Plessis | 29 | South Africa | 120 | 9 | Has come close to a breakthrough DP World Tour win this season, no more so than at the BMW International Open when he was denied by a dramatic birdie-eagle finish by countryman and fellow Open debutant Michael Hollick. |
| Ryan Gerard | 26 | United States | 28 | 59 | This time last year, he won the Barracuda Championship to break into the world's top 50 for the first time but three runner-up finishes worldwide - including on the DP World Tour in Mauritius - have only furthered his progress. |
| Michael Hollick | 39 | South Africa | 149 | 26 | Left professional golf to become a coach four years ago, but in his rookie campaign on the DP World Tour he claimed victory at the BMW International Open earlier this month and is now preparing to write the latest chapter in his story of perseverance on his Major debut. |
| Casey Jarvis | 22 | South Africa | 82 | 5 | A back-to-back winner on his home continent earlier this season, he has since made debuts at the Masters and US PGA Championship and now completes the full set of Majors. |
| Kota Kaneko | 23 | Japan | 109 | 16 | One of 12 first-time winners on the DP World Tour this season, he claimed two titles on the Japan Golf Tour in 2025 to top its Order of Merit and claim his playing rights on golf's global tour. |
| Frederic Lacroix | 31 | France | 254 | 55 | Finished tied for second at the Investec South African Open Championship earlier this season tosecure his place and has since brought up 100 DP World Tour appearances since his debut in 2019. |
| Joakim Lagergren | 34 | Sweden | 160 | 71 | Regained his playing rights through the HotelPlanner Tour in 2024 and was a two-time runner-up last year as he finished in the top 25 on the Race to Dubai Rankings to secure his Open debut. |
| Francesco Laporta | 35 | Italy | 222 | 56 | Spent much of his early life with family in South Africa and has since won three HotelPlanner Tour titles and amassed almost 200 DP World Tour starts but never before has he played in one of golf's marquee events. |
| Ramsus Neergard-Petersen | 27 | Denmark | 91 | 43 | Having sealed his first DP World Tour title in Australia, shortly after becoming a dual member with the PGA TOUR at he end of last year, he adds an Open debut to his Masters and US PGA Championship debuts earlier in the season. |
| Jayden Schaper | 25 | South Africa | 85 | 4 | Like Chacarra and Jarvis, he won back-to-back DP World Tour titles to make an excellent start to the 2026 Race to Dubai season but he has since perhaps understandably struggled for consistency, although a recent tie for 11th over the links-style The International at the KLM Open suggests he could compete well. |
