Ancer, Horsfield, Oosthuizen, and Stenson make their 2024 Major debuts
By Samuel Blatchford
TROON, SCOTLAND – Sixteen LIV golfers will compete at Royal Troon in Scotland at The Open this week. Four players are making their first major starts of 2024 – Ancer, Horsfield, Oosthuizen and Stenson
The Players
Qualifiers
Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann and Stinger GC’s Dean Burmester earned their spots through The Open Qualifying Series.
Niemann won the Australian Open and Burmester won the Joburg Open.
Fireball GC’s Abraham Ancer and Majesticks GC’s Sam Horsfield advanced via Final Qualifying.
Exemptions
Adrian Meronk, of Cleeks GC, will make his third Open start after qualifying due to finishing top 30 in the 2023 Race to Dubai.
Andy Ogletree, of HyFlyers, will make his first Open start after qualifying due to his top 5 international federation ranking.
David Puig, of Fireballs GC, will make his first Open start after qualifying due to top 5 international federation ranking.
Tyerrell Hatton, of Legion XIII, will make his 12th Open start after qualifying due to his OWGR points.
Past Champions
Phil Mickelson, of HyFlyers GC, is making his 30th Open start. He considers his win in 2013 to be the greatest accomplishment.
Louis Oosthuizen, of Stingers GC, will make his 17th Open start. He won the tournament in 2010.
Cameron Smith, of Rippers GC, will make his 7th Open start. He won the tournament in 2022. He has made the cut in the last 3 majors.
Henrik Stenson, of Majesticks GC, will be making his 17th Open start. He won the tournament in 2016. This will be his first major start in 2024.
Major Winners
Crushers GC captain Bryson DeChambeau will make his 7th Open start. If he wins The Open he can become the first player since Tiger Woods in 2000 to win both The US Open and The Open.
4Aces captain Dustin Johnson, will make his 15th start. He has 5 top-ten finishes at The Open.
Smash GC captain Brooks Koepka, will make his 10th Open start. His best finish at The Open was tied 4th in 2019
Legion XIII captain Jon Rahm, will make his 8th Open start. He has two top 3 finishes in the last three Opens.