Meet the eight South Africans teeing it up at the 154th Open at Royal Birkdale

The 154th Open starts at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England on Thursday. It is the 11th time that the year’s fourth Major will be played at the course in Merseyside. Eight South Africans will be teeing it up, hoping to be named Champion Golfer of the Year on Sunday.

Here’s a brief look at the eight South Africans taking part.

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Hennie du Plessis

This will be the 29-year-old’s second Major this season after also featuring at the US Open last month. He has five career wins. He finished runner-up at the inaugural 2022 LIV Golf Invitational London, missing out by one shot to compatriot Charl Schwartzel. Most recently he finished second at the BMW International Championship at the start of July.

Casey Jarvis

Casey Jarvis in action at the BMW International Open in Munich. Picture: Luke Walker/Getty Images

One of the rising stars of SA golf, the 22-year-old won back-to-back this season at the Kenya Open and the SA Open, the latter securing him a spot in the field this week. He also played at the Masters in April. Jarvis boasts a joint low round of 59 on the Sunshine Tour, recorded at the 2023 Stella Artois Players Championship.

Jayden Schaper

Jayden Schaper playing at the Scottish Open last week. Picture: Warren Little/Getty Images

It’s a third Major appearance in the year for the smooth-swinging 25-year-old, after playing the PGA Championship and US Open. Schaper tasted his first big success in December last year when he won back-to-back at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Mauritius Open. As an amateur he won the Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in 2019.

Michael Hollick

Michael Hollick’s first big win in golf came at the BMW International Open in Munich. Picture: Luke Walker/Getty Images

The 39-year-old will be on Major debut. Golfing success has come late in the career of Hollick, who picked up his first DP World Tour win last week at the BMW International Open in Munich, following an eagle on the 72nd hole. He once stepped away from the game to coach, but made a comeback in recent years.

Shaun Norris

Shaun Norris has played all around the world. Picture: Sean M Haffey/Getty Images

The 44-year-old veteran of South African golf will make his seventh appearance at the Open this week. He qualified by winning the Mizuno Open at the end of May, his ninth win on the Japan Golf Tour and 15th professional victory. He missed the halfway cut at his last four Open appearances – in 2025, 2022, 2021 and 2019.

Aldrich Potgieter

Aldrich Potgieter has replaced Louis Oosthuizen in the field this week. Picture: Warren Little/Getty Images

The 21-year-old has got into his third Open via the back door, replacing the injured Louis Oosthuizen in the field this week. Four years ago Potgieter became the second youngest-ever winner of The Amateur Championship at the age of 17. He has two PGA Tour wins. His best finish at a Major came at this year’s PGA Championship when he placed tied 35th.

MJ Daffue

MJ Daffue will play in his second Major this week. Picture: Octavio Passos/Getty Images

The 37-year-old will be on debut at the Open after qualifying at Royal Cinque Ports. He has played in one other Major, the 2022 US Open. After turning professional in 2012 after a good university career in the USA, Daffue won his first two professional titles this year at the NTT Data Pro-Am and DP World PGTI Open.

Jack Buchanan

Jack Buchanan will be one of several amateurs in the field at the Open. Picture: Ryan Sirius Sun / Getty Images via AFP

The 21-year-old amateur got into the tournament by winning this year’s Africa Amateur Championship at Royal Johannesburg’s East Course in February. The Cape Town golfer said, “I believe the first Open that I went to was at Royal Birkdale in 2017 so to go back somewhere I was a kid watching not too long ago is going to be really special.”

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