Thursday 30 June 2016 13:13, UK
Colin Montgomerie was one of 12 players to progress through final qualifying for the 145th Open on Tuesday, but who else joined him? We find out more about the other players to secure their places in the Royal Troon field.
Steven Alker
Eighteen years on from his first Open appearance, the New Zealand journeyman will be back for more at Royal Troon after ending runner-up at Royal Cinque Ports.
The 44-year-old has played on numerous tours in a career spanning two decades, appearing mostly on the Web.com Tour this campaign having featured heavily on the PGA Tour last time around.
Alker has eight professional victories worldwide, while his best Open performance saw him end tied-19th at Lytham St. Annes in 2012.
Oskar Arvidsson
The little-known Swede was the surprise winner at Gailes Links, firing a bogey-free opening-round 64 on his way to finishing four clear of the chasing pack.
Ranked 1418th in the world, Arvidsson posted three top-20 finishes in as many weeks at the start of the Asian Development Tour season, but hasn't registered one since.
Arvidsson failed at the first qualifying stage in his efforts to reach this year's European Tour, but will now have a chance to impress in Scotland next month.
Dave Coupland
The Lincolnshire player followed a tied-sixth finish on the EuroPro Tour earlier in the week by edging through the play-off at Hillside.
Coupland bounced back from a second-round 73 to become the first player to progress via extra holes.
The Woodhall Spa-based golfer has appeared frequently on the Challenge Tour this season, having ended tied-11th in his first European Tour start at last year's Lyoness Open.
Paul Dunne
Dunne will make a maiden major appearance as a professional after winning Woburn qualifying for the third year running.
The Irishman, who missed the Open cut in 2014, famously held a share of the 54-hole of the lead last year as an amateur before eventually ending tied-30th.
After winning the Walker Cup and turning professional, the 22-year-old has since gone on to claim six top-20 finishes on the European Tour.
Ryan Evans
The Wellingborough GC member continued his rise in the sport by posting back-to-back rounds of 68 at Woburn and earning his Open debut.
Evans impressed in his first season on the Challenge Tour last year, posting two top-fives and ending 28th in the Road to Oman standings, before progressing through Q-School to secure his European Tour card.
Although Evans has missed the cut in nine of his 13 worldwide starts this season, he did post his best finish of his career by ending tied-12th at the Mauritius Open.
Scott Fernandez
The 23-year-old is one of several to be added to an Open roster for the first time after an impressive showing at Gailes Links.
A birdie-filled 66 during the second round of qualifying gave the Spaniard, who was educated in America before turning professional, a first major start.
Playing predominately on the Challenge Tour this campaign, Fernandez has ended inside the top-25 in five of his last eight starts.
James Heath
The 33-year-old made it a week to remember after following a long-awaited victory by coming through qualifying with a fast finish at Royal Cinque Ports.
Having ended a 10-year drought by winning the SSE Scot Hydro Challenge, Heath birdied the last two holes of his final round to end qualifying tied for second in Kent.
Heath's only other professional win came on the Challenge Tour at the 2006 ECCO Tour Championship, while the Londoner's best showing on the European Tour came via a share of fourth at last year's M2M Russian Open.
Paul Howard
Howard is another player to secure a first major start after taking the first round lead on his way to progressing through the field at Hillside.
The Southport & Ainsdale golfer was in the initial squad for last year's Walker Cup, only to miss out on final selection after turning professional a few months before Great Britain and Ireland's victory.
After mixing the rest of 2015 between playing the Challenge Tour and the EuroPro Tour, Howard has been a regular in Europe's second tier this season and recently finished joint-second at the Swiss Masters.
Colin Montgomerie
The five-time major runner-up and three-time senior major champion booked his first Open appearance since 2010 after coming out of the Gailes Links qualifier in third spot.
Although he hasn't appeared on the European Tour since missing the cut at last year's PGA Championship, the Scot has already posted four top-10 finishes on the Champions Tour in 2016.
Montgomerie, who is relishing the chance to play on his home course, will also be part of the Sky Sports Golf pundit team during the tournament.
Robert Rock
The English needed a play-off to book his spot at Royal Troon, posting a second-round 66 before edging past Aaron Rai.
Rock missed the cut in the last of his six Open starts four years' ago, while his best showing came when he ended tied-seventh at St Andrews in 2010.
The world No 213 fell narrowly short of a third European Tour title at last month's Trophee Hassan II, ending tied-third one stroke short of Jeunghun Wang, with his last win coming at the 2012 Abu Dhabi Championship.
Jack Senior
The Lancastrian posted rounds of 69 and 70 to claim a three-shot win over the chasing pack at Hillside and secure a maiden major appearance.
Once part of the same 2011 Walker Cup winning side as Andy Sullivan, the 27-year-old has missed in the cut in seven of his 11 appearances so far in 2016.
Senior's biggest win to date was in Scotland at last year's SSE Scot Hydro Challenge, where he came through a three-man play-off to claim victory, although he suffered an early exit from the event this time around.
Matthew Southgate
The Essex-based player missed the cut in his only previous Open start two years' ago, but has completed a remarkable recovery to make the field for golf's oldest major.
Southgate was sidelined last season after being diagnosed with testicular cancer, but returned to action after treatment and came through all three stages of the Qualifying School to regain his European Tour card.
The 27-year-old took advantage of a late call-up to post a career-best finish at May's Irish Open, before topping the leaderboard in final qualifying at Royal Cinque Ports.
And those who missed out…
Walker Cup winner Ashley Chesters, who ended tied-12th in 2015, failed to make it a third straight year at the Open when he missed out in a play-off, while Australia's Scott Arnold and European Tour regular Tjaart Van Der Walt also couldn't make it through from Hillside.
Kevin Phelan and Scott Jamieson were among those not to progress from Gailes Links and world No 117 Dean Burmester was one stroke off a play-off at Royal Cinque Ports, as former Czech Open champion Oliver Fisher and Sweden's Marcus Kinhult fell short at Woburn.
Watch the Open throughout the week live on Sky Sports - your home of golf. Coverage begins on Sky Sports The Open from July 11.
