Matt Wallace will realise a dream when he tees off in his first Open at Carnoustie this afternoon.

The Moor Park-attached professional is in one of the later groups to begin their campaign in the 147th edition of the major championship, heading out on the Scottish Links at 2.48pm alongside two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson and the last Open winner at Carnoustie, Padraig Harrington.

Although the 28-year-old’s career has progressed rapidly in the last two-and-a-half years – from a historic six wins on the Alps Tour in 2016, graduating to the Challenge Tour to quickly gaining his European Tour card by winning the Open de Portugal, to being a two-time European Tour victor this year – Wallace's excitement at playing in a first Open is clear.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “It’s something you grow up watching and dreaming about and it’s great to be here. Even the navy blue of the stands, seeing the logo of the jug everywhere, it’s just really special.

“I went to Sandwich as a kid in 2003 and haven’t been to an Open since so to be playing in it feels great and I can’t wait.

“I’ve got a good draw, and you can only learn from playing with major champions, but I’ll be playing my own game at the same time.”

Wallace said practice and his preparations had “been good” and continued: “Unfortunately I missed the cut at the Scottish Open but I worked hard over the weekend, played at Renaissance on Saturday and then came up and played 18 on Sunday and have been building up over the last few days. I’d rather have done better at Gullane but hopefully it’s been good preparation for this week.”

The biggest talking point ahead of the tournament has been the conditions. The prolonged hot and dry weather has left the scorched Carnoustie fairways hard and fast, with players able to hit drives in excess of 400 yards.

“It’s really fast and firm but we’ve done our homework and hopefully we know the best way to approach each hole, whatever the wind or conditions are doing,” the world number 73 said. “You need a bit of variety in your shots and particularly ball flight but it’s part of the challenge.

“No matter what happens, I’m going to enjoy this. It’s The Open and it’s Links golf and the scorched grass is one of the things you think of when you picture it.”

The Moor Park professional’s place in the Carnoustie field was assured after winning the BMW International Open last month due to it lifting him sufficiently high in the Race to Dubai rankings. Since that tournament though, his results have taken a downturn with three successive missed cuts at the French, Irish and Scottish Opens.

“It’s been disappointing to miss three cuts since Germany,” he said. “I hate missing cuts, especially in big tournaments, but you can’t let that affect you.

“I haven’t let that affect my confidence in what I can do, I know I’ve prepared well for this week and so I’ll just have to see how it goes come Thursday.”

Wallace has not made the final two rounds in his two previous majors – the 2017 and 2018 US Open – but he acknowledged the experience gained from playing on the biggest stage can only be beneficial.

“I’ve definitely learnt a lot from Erin Hills (in 2017) and Shinnecock," he said.

“Erin Hills all felt very new and the big thing I took away from it was about preparation, whereas Shinnecock really made me think about gameplans and the way you approach different courses.

“This is my third major and this is the level everyone wants to be competing at so hopefully I can have a good week.”