EDDIE Pepperell tees off at St Andrews this morning confident he will not be overawed by the occasion and believing he has the game to finish in the top five.

The Abingdon golfer qualified for his first Open Championship thanks to his career-best finish at the Irish Open in May, where he just missed out on a maiden European Tour title in a play-off.

Pepperell enjoyed a superb fourth-placed finish at last weekend’s Scottish Open, and is bullish about what can be achieved if he can hit top form over the next four days.

“I feel if I play well I can definitely have a top-five,” the 24-year-old said.

“I’m not saying I can’t win and I’m not saying I can win, who knows, but for sure I feel if I play well I can have a top-five.

“Therefore, that would be a good week, anything less means I haven’t played somewhere near my best golf.

“I’m not going with any real goals, all I want to do is play well and I know if I am doing that I don’t feel like the situation is going to hit me and make me think ‘Oh, I’m here at The Open’.

“I’ve had enough experiences now of being up there in good fields.

“You shouldn’t be afraid of it, so I won’t be.”

Pepperell, who tees off at 10.39 this morning will be backed by his very own fan club, known as the ‘Pepper Army’.

A couple of dozen family members and friends are expected to follow him round the Old Course, as they do in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth each year.

Oxfordshire’s top golfer appreciates the backing, although he tries to stay in his own competitive bubble.

“I suppose you can feel the atmosphere, but I’m not that sensitive, so I don’t really care too much – I’m really cold-hearted when it comes to things like that,” he joked.

It will be the second major of his career, after missing the cut in the 2013 US Open.

While the course at Merion was an unknown quantity, St Andrews holds no such fears for Frilford Heath’s finest, who has played at the home of golf both in his amateur days and on the European Tour.

He said: “I know the course as well as anybody in this field.

“I should find it easier to get into the flow and the rhythm of it.

“But you’d rather have your first Open be at St Andrews than anywhere else. It’s so special.”