The Open 2023: Local hero Matthew Jordan under par in round one

Matthew Jordan after the first round of The Open.

Hoylake member Matthew Jordan hit the first tee shot of the 2023 Open at his home club – and walked off the course with a two-under-par score of 69 beside his name.

The 27-year-old ­– who has the course record 62 around these links – has played here since he was seven and secured his place by finishing second in the final qualifier along the coast at West Lancashire two weeks ago.

But nothing prepared him for his major debut, and being the home hero among the massive crowds, who turned out early to see him tee off.

“It was amazing,” he said, “I’m kind of running out of words to describe it. It was crazy, mental, loud, everything that I could have wished for. I’m trying to think of a better experience than that, and I don’t think I can.

“With the occasion and everything going on to start with, I’m really happy to break 70. If you do that, you certainly can’t be displeased.”

Jordan posted four birdies and two bogeys in his 69, adding: “I think it’s the hardest wind for this course. I think if you go towards the back nine, the start of it — well, even from say 6 to 14, I don’t think there are really any easy holes.

“Maybe 11 where you can hit a wedge in. But apart from that, certainly, 12 to 14 is playing difficult, and it’s still long irons into 7, 8, 9, 10.

“I was kind of intrigued myself to get out there and see exactly what it’s like, but compared to previous Opens, I remember in 2014 I think it was soft and the scoring was really good, and then in 2006 it was completely burnt out.

“So, I have seen that kind of side of it. I think we’re just hoping that it does firm out a bit and there is a bit of wind, so it can offer good scores and bad scores.

“I’m just looking at certain spots that you can hit it in terms of like I want to see where the rough is in certain places. I’m not going to reveal where because I don’t want to give away too many tips.”

Jordan has won Hoylake’s club championship on multiple occasions, though he says: “I think people like my dad were playing in that, so it wasn’t too tough to win.”

His CV also includes membership of the GB&I Walker Cup team in 2017, the St Andrews Trophy in 2017 and the Lytham Trophy in 2018.

In Open qualifying, the Challenge Tour player finished ahead of former major winners Graeme McDowell and Sergio Garcia after shooting a 10-under-par two-round total of 134. He also made the cut at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open where he finished 77th.

“Ultimately I want to perform,” Jordan said. “I think in terms of me doing that, when I come away from this next week, I just want to play the golf course like I know I can, like I do in practice, like I normally will if I’m here preparing for any other events.”

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About the author

Chris Jones
Today’s Golfer Editor

Chris Jones is the Editor of Today’s Golfer magazine, Britain’s biggest and best-selling golf magazine.

Chris worked in newspapers, and for Bird Watching and MCN before joining Today’s Golfer in 2005. He became the editor of Golf World in 2007, building its audience and enhancing its reputation throughout Europe, and also edited Golf Illustrated, a luxury coffee table magazine, before returning to edit Today’s Golfer in 2013.

In the years since, Chris has taken Today’s Golfer to new levels of success, maintaining its place at the top of Britain’s golf magazine sales and increasing market share over its rivals. In 2020 he oversaw the merging of the magazine with Golf World, placing particular emphasis on the revered Top 100 Courses and Resorts rankings.

Chris lives in Cambridgeshire, where Today’s Golfer is produced, and has been a member of a number of the county’s courses, including Elton Furze and Peterborough Milton. He has also played a huge number of the world’s best courses, from Turnberry to TPC Sawgrass, and has traveled the world.

Playing off a 12-handicap, Chris is a classic amateur golfer, capable of both the sublime and the ridiculous. A long-hitter, he prefers the bomb and gouge method to the shorter fairway finder.

He plays a mixed bag of clubs, including Callaway woods, and TaylorMade irons.

You can get in touch with Chris here.