Having grown up largely outside of Australia in Ghana and later in the UK, List’s time on Australian shores as a child is often overlooked.

With an Australian father, List harnessed his game in Perth, and says it was in Western Australia where he first began to take his game to new heights.

“Golf in Australia was where I really could get a good taste of what competition golf was,” List said at Torrey Pines today.

“I learned what proper conditions would be like and learning how to play in the wind and various things.

“Australia is, I feel like it’s perfect conditions for any golf course. You can keep the greens fast, you can get it windy, you can get all sorts of different conditions.

“Being from Perth, I also worked a bit with Ritchie Smith in the past and he had taught me a lot. He really played a big role in me being able to advance in the game of golf.”

List joins a quartet of Australians in the field this week, among them close friend and fellow West Australian, Min Woo Lee, who his also under the tutelage of Smith.

“Min Woo is a good mate of mine, I’ve known him for a long time,” he said. “We were just chatting, talking a little bit of smack, and then I got to say hi to Scotty and J Day too, they were really, really good to me.”