A former US Army officer who served in Afghanistan has set his sights on an Australian summer after playing all four rounds at The Open Championship.

Marcus Plunkett – who served in the US Army for five years – earned a spot at Royal Birkdale through Final Qualifying and played his way into the weekend with rounds of 70-71.

That has necessitated a mad dash from Liverpool to Valdosta, Georgia where he will tee it up at the second US Qualifying School for the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia’s 2026/2027 season.

Ranked 3,808 in the world when he missed the cut in a Korn Ferry Tour event in 2023, Plunkett made two starts on the Nordic Golf League in 2024 before earning Korn Ferry Tour status for the 2025 season.

Marcus Plunkett has played on tours on most continents. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

He had just one top-10 finish in 20 starts and has played five events on the Asian Tour this season after finishing tied 28th at Q School in December.

With the lure of the BMW Australian PGA Championship and Capital.com Australian Open for the winner this week at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club, Plunkett saw an opportunity to continue his globe-trotting lifestyle.

“The Australian PGA, the Australian Open are such cool events, I just thought it was a good something to try to throw my hat in and see how I finish,” said Plunkett.

“This game’s brought me a lot of places. I mean, if you take out Antarctica, I’ve been to every other continent, so I figured Australia scratched that one off the list.

“My caddie, Jason, he’s from Australia as well and he just tells me nothing but the best about the courses out there and the people.

“So just something I wanted to try to see if I could venture over there and play in.”

When you have spent six months in a war zone, the prospect of making the cut in your first Open or dealing with the nerves of Q School pale in comparison.

“Anytime you go to a combat zone, you have to come in with everything as dialled in as it possibly can,” said Plunkett.

“I was just really lucky to serve with the guys that I served with and the soldiers that fell underneath me. You see a lot of people’s character when you’re over there and I have nothing but good things to say about everyone that I was over there with.”

Liam Plunkett made the cut at The Open Championship. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Plunkett is one of an eclectic mix of 57 players drawn from around the world hopeful to earn status for the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia season that starts next month with the PNG Open.

The field has grown in year two with a host of players returning having made starts on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia last season, Jaron Leasure, Samuel Espinosa Trueba, Harrison Davis, Ben Carpenter, Kameron Williams, Nate Jordi and Brock Healy all chasing one of the eight playing category positions on offer.

Players from the United States, Spain, Czech Republic, Japan, England, New Zealand, Canada, Uganda and even three Aussies will tee it up from Tuesday, a full schedule on offer for the winner.

Chris Malec topped Q School at Kinderlou Forest last year and played 20 events last season, including both the Capital.com Australian Open and BMW Australian PGA Championship.

His best finish was a tie for eighth at the Heritage Classic and he will return this summer having finished tied 15th at Q School at Sandhurst.

“I really look forward to an opportunity to be back,” said Malec, who was very much a journeyman pro until he won the US Q School a year ago.

“It’s the best opportunity I’ve had so far. I love it and I’m just doing my best to learn and get better.

“And hopefully this could be a stepping stone for the next thing.”

Ty Gingerich retained status Down Under by finishing 53rd on the Order of Merit, Tour Development Manager for the PGA of Australia, Kim Felton excited by what the next crop of internationals will bring.

“The players who earned status at Kinderlou Forest 12 months ago brought great energy to our Tour last season and our players really enjoyed having them as part of it,” said Felton.

“They came out excited for the opportunity to play on a major tour, embraced the experience and had a lot of fun throughout the season. They also brought a strong international flavour to many of our events.

“There’s no doubt those players benefited from competing on a schedule featuring a variety of high-quality courses, with different challenges and conditions each week.

“We’re excited that a number of those players will return for a second season later this year, and we’re looking forward to seeing the calibre of players who will join them this week at Q School.”

The 2026/2027 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia schedule will be released on August 3.