Making their Major debut 

This year’s US PGA Championship will be one to remember for five European Tour members who are all set to make their Major Championship debuts at Kiawah Island.

John Catlin, Garrick Higgo, Antoine Rozner, Kalle Samooja and Daniel van Tonder have all enjoyed recent success and good form on their way to earning a place in this week’s field – with Catlin, Higgo, Rozner and van Tonder all winning at least once on the European Tour in the last 12 months.

Here’s what you need to know about the Major rookies.

John Catlin

John Catlin, who won his third European Tour title in less than 12 months at the Austrian Golf Open, was the first to be extended a US PGA Championship exemption back in April.

“It means the world to be at my first major,” said Catlin. “I’ve always wanted to compete against the best in the world and majors gives you the opportunity to do that.”

The American, who carved out a successful career in Asia before earning his European Tour card, is not unfamiliar with performing on some of the most difficult courses.

He earned his first Tour victory at Valderrama last September, edging out Martin Kaymer by a stroke, before winning for a second time two weeks later at Galgorm Castle. His third win came in a play-off against Maximillian Kieffer in Austria last month, cementing his position in the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking.

And after all that recent success, Catlin is keen to treat his Major like a regular event.

“I’m just going to treat it like it’s any other week. My mental state isn’t going to change and I’m going to give it my all and see where I end up!”

He added: “The course is absolutely stunning and in immaculate shape. It’s going to be a very difficult test but I have done well on difficult golf courses so I’m excited for the challenge.

Garrick Higgo

Garrick Higgo has experienced a quick and impressive rise up the Official World Golf Rankings since he turned professional in early 2019, and enters the week following two victories in his last three starts on Tour.

Higgo, who was named Sunshine Tour rookie in 2020 after two victories in his first season, broke through with his maiden European Tour title on just his sevent start at the Open de Portugal.

The win earned him his Tour card, and after finishing the season with a top 15 at his first DP World Tour Championship, Higgo continued that momentum into 2021. In his last four starts on Tour, Higgo has two wins (which he achieved at the Gran Canaria Lopesan Open and Canary Islands Championship), and two further top tens.

He enters the week at 51st on the Official World Golf Ranking, but will encounter an altogether different atmosphere as he contends for the first time in front of big crowds.

“The main difference is that this is my first week playing in front of fans,” said Higgo. “The European Tour bubble hasn’t allowed us to play in front of more than a handful of fans since I joined the European Tour so I’m looking forward to the atmosphere out there with 10,000+ fans onsite per day!”

But while that may be daunting for some, Higgo is ready for the strong test that Kiawah will present.

“Its amazing!”, he said of the course. “It’s in great condition and 10 holes run alongside the Atlantic which makes for great views. The course is tough but the weather forecast looks pretty settled with a bit of wind so it will be a strong test.

“I’m just focused on working on a strategy that suits my style of play and then playing my own game. I think I can do that well and if I do, I can contend.”

Antoine Rozner

Antoine Rozner is making his way to his first Major Championship after following up a successful debut season with a second Tour victory in March.

The Frenchman had come close a couple of times previously – most notably in a play-off in Mauritius in 2019 – before he broke through for his maiden title at the Golf in Dubai Championship during his rookie season last December.

Just five starts later, Rozner won again – this time by holing a dramatic 60 foot putt on the 18th hole to capture his second Tour title at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

From there he has continued to impress, which included causing an upset during the group stages at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play by defeating Bryson DeChambeau. Tommy Fleetwood ultimately won that group, but Rozner is now ready to take that experience to the Major stage as he relishes the test that Kiawah presents.

“It’s so cool,” Rozner said of his first Major start. “Obviously the organisation of the event is unreal. It’s just so nice, and all the players enjoy it a lot. I’m having a lot of fun so far so I can’t wait to see how the rest of the week goes.

“The course is absolutely fantastic, it’s in amazing shape but it’s obviously very hard as well. You can’t really miss, just being in the rough is completely different because it is very thick and the second shots become a lot harder from that grass. If you have any big misses its either a lost ball or in the water hazard so it will be a tough test but I like that because it’s a good test for me and my game and I’m looking forward to it.

“I just want to finish as high as possible. If I can play my game, play solid game and play with as much confidence as usual I think it will be a good week for me, I can look for good results – my goal for the week is focus on me and what I have to do.”

Kalle Samooja

Kalle Samooja had his sights set on qualifying for his first Major championship through the Canary Islands Swing, and succeeded in earning his way into the field after an impressive run in Tenerife– finishing in a tie for third at the Tenerife Open and a tie for ninth during the Canary Islands Championship.

The 33 year old Finnish player, who like Catlin played a couple of years of his early career in Asia, first earned his status on the European Tour following his Challenge Tour victory at the Hainan Open.

Since then he’s come close to tasting maiden success on the European Tour on a number of occasions, most notably during his play-off loss to Callum Shinkwin in Cyprus last season. But despite still searching for that first Tour win, just achieving the goal of getting to a Major is a milestone which is incredibly important to Samooja.

“I've worked hard to reach that goal to get into a major, it feels great” said Samooja.

“Kiawah is great too. It’s a good ball strikers course, and it looks like wind is going to play a big role.”

He’s also looking forward to experiencing the atmosphere of big crowds again,  something which has not yet returned on the European Tour, and is hoping just to make the most of enjoying the week.

“I don’t have any big expectations. I just want to try to enjoy the experience and play my best golf.

“And it's great that they let people come and watch us play. It's been a while that we've played in front of big crowds. “

Daniel van Tonder

Daniel van Tonder has had a year to remember, with wins across both the Sunshine Tour and the European Tour helping him to achieve his goal of playing in a Major.

A huge amount of van Tonder’s success has come through the Sunshine Tour, where he won four times in 2020 alone, but the South African managed to add a European Tour title at the Magical Kenya Open to an ever-growing list of professional victories with a play-off win over Jazz Janewattananond in March.

And although previous years have seen him compete in several World Golf Championships, this will be the first time van Tonder has earned his way onto the Major stage.

In addition to the five players will be teeing up in their first Major, there are also a number of European Tour members making their first trip to a US PGA Championship. That list is made up of recent winner Dean Burmester, in addition to Aaron Rai, Thomas Detry, Jason Scrivener, Rasmus Højgaard, Sam Horsfield, Sami Välimäki, Takumi Kanaya and Will Zalatoris