Shaun Norris won the Gate Way To The Open Mizuno Open on the Japan Golf Tour with a closing seven-under-par 65 on Sunday to secure his place in this year’s Open Championship.

Norris was steady rather than spectacular as he opened the final round, with two birdies ahead of the turn keeping him in front of the casing pack, but two birdies in a row on the 10th and 11th sparked a strong finish, with other coming on the 15th, and two more consecutively on the final two holes pulling him five clear of runner-up Ryutaro Nagaono.

Norris had opened the tournament with a nine-under 63. His second-round 69 had him in a share of second on 12-under, three off the halfway lead. He hit the front after his third-round 67 took him one clear of Satoshi Kadaira at 17-under-par.

The South African is a four-time Sunshine Tour champion, a two-time DP World Tour winner and currently sits in the top 10 on the Race to Dubai Rankings, but he is even more prolific in Japan, with his victory in Okayama his ninth on that circuit.

The event formed part of The Open Qualifying Series and along with Norris, Nagano and Ren Yonezawa will also be heading to Royal Birkdale after finishing second and third.

Norris will be making his seventh Open appearance in July and looking to make the cut for the first time since 2018.

The Open Qualifying Series has already featured 11 events where players could earn their spots at The Open and there are further opportunities coming up on the PGA Tour at the Memorial Tournament and RBC Canadian Open and on the DP World Tour at the Open d’Italia.