Mizuki Hashimoto

Earned her spot at Muirfield with victory in November’s Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship in Abu Dhabi – a week after her Japanese compatriot Keita Nakajima, the world’s top-ranked amateur, won the equivalent men’s event.

The 19-year-old Hashimoto had four successive rounds of 68, coming from three strokes behind on the final day to triumph by one after holing her 135-yard approach to the third for an eagle two. Ranked 121st at the time, it also brought her an invitation to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and she said: “I’ve seen these tournaments on television and to be able to play in them is a dream come true”.