The 153rd Open gets under way this week, and a host of former and current HotelPlanner Tour players will tee it up at Royal Portrush.
In total, 54 past and present HotelPlanner Tour players will compete in the final Major Championship of 2025, with six having secured their place via Final Qualifying on July 1. South African Justin Walters produced the most impressive display to advance to Royal Portrush, carding rounds of 65 and 68 to win the Burnham & Berrow qualifier at nine under par.
Current HotelPlanner Tour players George Bloor, Curtis Knipes, Daniel Young, Jesper Sandborg and John Axelsen all join Walters in Northern Ireland having come through their respective qualifying events.
Marco Penge, a two-time winner on the HotelPlanner Tour, has impressed on the DP World Tour this year and currently sits third on the Race to Dubai Rankings. The Englishman will make his third appearance at The Open along with his compatriot and fellow graduate, John Parry.
Parry won three times during the 2024 HotelPlanner Tour season and will make his fifth Major Championship appearance this week. Fellow 2024 graduates Kristoffer Reitan and Oliver Lindell will make their debuts at The Open. Norwegian Reitan secured his spot through his position inside the Race to Dubai’s top 20, while Finn Lindell advanced through Final Qualifying at West Lancashire.
Current Road to Mallorca Number Four Daniel van Tonder will make his second start at The Open after finishing inside the 2025 Federations Ranking List. The South African’s compatriots and HotelPlanner Tour alumni Louis Oosthuizen, Dean Burmester, Darren Fichardt, Dylan Naidoo, Christian Bezuidenhout and Thriston Lawrence will also tee it up in Northern Ireland. Lawrence impressed during The 152nd Open, finishing in solo fourth and three shots back of winner, Xander Schauffele.
Elsewhere, 2023 graduates Matteo Manassero and Jesper Svensson will feature alongside English quartet, Matt Wallace, Jordan Smith, Laurie Canter and Matthew Jordan, all of whom are HotelPlanner Tour alumni.
Other English alumni set to tee it up this week include OJ Farrell, two-time DP World Tour winner Daniel Brown and 2022 Rolex Grand Final winner, Nathan Kimsey.
European Ryder Cup stars and HotelPlanner Tour alumni Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Robert MacIntyre and Justin Rose are in the field along with five-time Major winner and 2013 graduate, Brooks Koepka.
A host of French HotelPlanner Tour alumni will also be present at Portrush, with 2024 graduate Martin Couvra currently the standout performer. Couvra sits sixth on the Race to Dubai following a maiden DP World Tour win at the Turkish Airlines Open and will be joined by compatriots and fellow HotelPlanner Tour alumni Matthieu Pavon, Julien Guerrier, Adrien Saddier and Romain Langasque at The Open
Ryan Fox, who earned promotion from the HotelPlanner Tour in 2016, will be joined at Royal Portrush by his PGA Tour colleagues Aaron Rai, Thomas Detry and Danish twins, Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard.
Another New Zealander, Daniel Hillier, finished third on the 2022 Road to Mallorca and will tee it up in The Open a fourth time this week.
2024 Open de España winner Angel Hidalgo earned promotion from the HotelPlanner Tour in 2021 and secured his place at The Open via Final Qualifying. The Spaniard will make his second Major Championship appearance after missing the cut 12 months ago at Royal Troon.
Swede Henrik Stenson, the 2016 Champion Golfer of the Year and 2000 graduate from the HotelPlanner Tour, will make his 20th appearance at The Open when he tees off on Thursday morning. At the other end of the spectrum, Stenson’s countryman Sebastian Söderberg will get his first taste of The Open this week.
Italian Guido Migliozzi, Northern Irishman Tom McKibbin, South Korean Byeong Hun An, Australian Elvis Smylie, German Matti Schmid and Danish duo Thorbjorn Olesen and Niklas Norgaard make up the HotelPlanner Tour alumni teeing it up against the world’s best this week.
