By Mathieu Wood
The Open week is in full swing, and the magic of golf’s original championship will be experienced for the first time by ten DP World Tour members.
From a Ryder Cup winner at the top of the game to a former Walker Cup star making his Major Championship debut at 35 and other rising stars of the game, there are great stories among those vying to win the historic Claret Jug for the first time.
Here’s our rundown on the debutants with DP World Tour cards for 2024 in action at The 152nd Open at Royal Troon. We've listed them in alphabetical order.
Ludvig Åberg
- Age: 24
- Birthplace: Eslov, Sweden
- Turned Pro: 2023
- DP World Tour wins: 1
- Official World Golf Ranking: 4
Considering what he has already achieved in the game, it is remarkable that Åberg only turned professional in June 2023. The Swede was the top ranked amateur on the World Golf Amateur Rankings and made history as the first player to earn direct access to the PGA TOUR via collegiate merit, finishing first on the 2023 PGA TOUR University Ranking while at Texas Tech. He secured his first win as a professional at the DP World Tour’s Omega European Masters in Switzerland, a day before he was named in Europe’s Ryder Cup team. He would go on to claim two foursomes victories alongside Viktor Hovland as Luke Donald’s side sealed victory in Italy, making history as the first European to play in a Ryder Cup before ever having teed up in a Major. Back-to-back scores of 61 then helped him earn his first PGA TOUR title at the RSM Classic in November. So far this year he has six top tens, including at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open, rising inside the top five on the Official World Golf Ranking. On his Major debut, at the Masters Tournament in April, he finished solo second, and since finished in a tie for 12th at the U.S. Open last month.
Dan Brown
- Age: 29
- Birthplace: Northallerton, England
- Turned Pro: 2017
- DP World Tour wins: 1
- Official World Golf Ranking: 272
The Englishman was one of the stories of the season last year on the DP World Tour. In his first full campaign on golf’s global tour, the then Qualifying School graduate claimed a wire-to-wire victory at the ISPS HANDA World Invitational presented by AVIV Clinics in Northern Ireland. It was a result that helped him qualify for the lucrative season-ending DP World Tour Championship. While form has been harder to come by so far this season, he set up his first start at a Major by progressing from the 36-hole Final Qualifying event at West Lancashire earlier this month. He ended a run of six missed cuts with a fine performance at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open, finishing 61st at The Renaissance Club. He made his DP World Tour debut at the 2015 KLM Open but had to wait more than seven years for his second appearance. In between, he played on the EuroPro Tour and Challenge Tour.
Angel Hidalgo
- Age: 26
- Birthplace: Marbella, Spain
- Turned Pro: 2018
- DP World Tour wins: 0
- Official World Golf Ranking: 361
Another player who is looking forward to making his bow on the Major stage. Brought up this momentous moment in his career in remarkable fashion, holing a 120-yard approach for an eagle on his final hole of Final Qualifying at Dundonald Links, nearby to this week’s host venue. Hidalgo twice won the Spanish Amateur Championship and was part of their victorious side at the 2017 European Team Championship. A winner on the Challenge Tour in 2021, he was fourth in the 2022 Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters at Valderrama after opening with a 63 – one outside Bernhard Langer’s course record. Arrives in Scotland after opting to fine tune his game stateside at last week’s ISCO Championship, where he finished in a tie for 16th.
Angel Hidalgo will make his Major debut at Royal Troon 👏🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/U8puuj27N0
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 2, 2024
Ryo Hisatsune
- Age: 21
- Birthplace: Okayama, Japan
- Turned Pro: 2020
- DP World Tour wins: 1
- Official World Golf Ranking: 93
The Japanese made his Major debut earlier this year at the Masters Tournament after receiving a special invite on the back of a remarkable rookie season on the DP World Tour in 2023. After securing his card at the Qualifying School, he won his first DP World Tour title at the Cazoo Open de France in September, before becoming the first Japanese player to be named the DP World Tour's Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year. With eight top ten finishes, he was one of ten players to earn 2024 PGA TOUR membership through his performances on the Race to Dubai last year. Has four top 20s so far this season on the PGA TOUR, with his best result a tie for 11th at The American Express in January.
Sam Hutsby
- Age: 35
- Birthplace: Portsmouth, England
- Turned Pro: 2009
- DP World Tour wins: 0
- Official World Golf Ranking: 498
Claimed a three-stroke victory at Dundonald Links to set up his long-awaited Major debut this week at Royal Troon. In 2009, he lost in the final of The Amateur Championship to Matteo Manassero. Later that year, the Englishman represented Great Britain & Ireland in the Walker Cup at Merion Golf Club. In a team that also featured Tommy Fleetwood, Hutsby secured two points before turning professional afterwards. While he has since graduated from Qualifying School on three occasions, he is yet to win on the DP World Tour, but is twice a winner on the Challenge Tour, most recently at the Andalucía Challenge de Cádiz last year. He has played almost exclusively on the Challenge Tour this season, but did finish in a tie for 11th at the Magical Kenya Open in February on his 116th and most recent DP World Tour start.
Tom McKibbin
- Age: 21
- Birthplace: Belfast, Northern Ireland
- Turned Pro: 2021
- DP World Tour wins: 1
- Official World Golf Ranking: 103
Narrowly missed out on his second DP World Tour title at the Italian Open in a play-off loss to Marcel Siem at the end of June, yet his runner-up finish was good enough to secure exemption into The 152nd Open. He made his Major debut at Pinehurst only last month at the U.S. Open, finishing tied for 41st as he played alongside World Number One Scottie Scheffler in the final round. In his rookie season on the DP World Tour last year, the Northern Irishman, who hails from the same Holywood club as Rory McIlroy, won the Porsche European Open in Germany. He also boasts six top tens so far this season on the DP World Tour, while he missed just his second cut of the campaign last week at the Genesis Scottish Open.
Vincent Norrman
- Age: 26
- Birthplace: Stockholm, Sweden
- Turned Pro: 2021
- DP World Tour wins: 2
- Official World Golf Ranking: 139
This time last year, the Swede was celebrating his maiden victory on both the PGA TOUR and the DP World Tour as he won the Barbasol Championship, now known as the ISCO Championship, in a play-off against Nathan Kimsey. Later that year, he won the Horizon Irish Open as a final-round 65 saw him overturn a six-shot deficit to claim victory at The K Club. While he qualified for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, he was also a nominee for the 2023 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year. So far this year, he has played predominantly stateside but is without a top 30 finish worldwide.
Sebastian Söderberg
- Age: 33
- Birthplace: Eksjo, Sweden
- Turned Pro: 2013
- DP World Tour wins: 1
- Official World Golf Ranking: 89
Riding high on the Race to Dubai Rankings, Söderberg has produced a series of excellent performances on the DP World Tour this season. On three occasions he has finished second, including an agonising end to the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed, while he has four other top tens to his name. His good form during the Asian Swing on the DP World Tour resulted in him securing exemption into the US PGA Championship. Won his lone DP World Tour title to date at the Omega European Masters in 2019 in a five-man play-off that featured Rory McIlroy. Arrives at Royal Troon as an injury doubt, having not played since retiring from the KLM Open last month.
Jesper Svensson
- Age: 28
- Birthplace: Uppsala, Sweden
- Turned Pro: 2019
- DP World Tour wins: 1
- Official World Golf Ranking: 110
One of three Swedes making their debut in the Open Championship this week, Svensson is in the field thanks to his ranking on this year's Race to Dubai on the DP World Tour. Following his graduation from the Challenge Tour, he is enjoying a dream rookie season on the DP World Tour. In just his second start as a full member, he was runner-up at the Investec South African Open Championship. Three months later, he celebrated his maiden DP World Tour win at the Porsche Singapore Classic. He has since made his Major debut in the US PGA Championship at Valhalla, where he made the cut, and is ranked as the fifth longest hitter off the tee on the DP World Tour.
Ryan van Velzen
- Age: 22
- Birthplace: Benoni, South Africa
- Turned Pro: 2021
- DP World Tour wins: 0
- Official World Golf Ranking: 321
An affiliate member on the DP World Tour, the talented South African won the Limpopo Championship and the MediClinic Invitational in his rookie season on the Sunshine Tour. Finished tied second at his national Open towards the end of last year, while he has since finished runner-up on home soil on the Challenge Tour. In May, he made his Major debut at the US PGA Championship, and now makes his Open debut as one of five qualifiers from a new Federation Ranking list exemption category.
