European Tour player Matthew Jordan passed on tips to amateurs in the England national squads – he was a member three years ago. Picture by LEADERBOARD PHOTOGRAPHY

MATTHEW Jordan watched Tiger Wood and Rory McIlroy win The Open at his home course at Hoylake in the space of eight years.

But he had no notion he would one day join the World No. 1 on the European Tour.

Even 18 short months ago, Jordan could not be sure he would ever make it as a pro golfer.

Now he’s settling in alongside the big guns during his rookie season on Tour and has the world at his feet.

Jordan’s story is truly inspirational and his telling of it proved to be fascinating for the England Golf squad players, who logged in for an online Q&A session.

As a young amateur, Jordan was a slow-burner, making his way steadily rather than spectacularly through the boys’ squads.

Then his game clicked with victories in the St Andrews Links Trophy and Lytham Trophy.

That earned him a place in Great Britain and Ireland’s 2017 Walker Cup team alongside Hampshire’s two Amateur Champions – Harry Ellis, Scott Gregory – and Jack Singh-Brar, who is also on the European Tour.

A year later Jordan turned pro – but with many questions about his suitability for the pro game still unanswered.

Yet a true competitive edge shaped in the England Golf squads soon shone through.

Matthew Jordan won the Hampshire Hog in 2016 at North Hants the home club of England Golf ambassasor Justin Rose. Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN / AMG PICTURES

From North Hants to Challenge Tour

A COURSE record 63 in the first round of the British Masters at Hillside in May last year – after receiving an invite – brought his name to the fore.

Victory in a Challenge Tour Event in Italy in June lit a fire under him.

And it’s still burning brightly as he waits to make his way on the full tour when the European Tour resumes in late July.

During a relaxed chat with the current England squad players and coaches, Jordan talked about his rise in the game, his hopes for the future, his methods on the course – and his dedication to smart practice routines.

He also admitted his rise was something he didn’t think of as a kid – nor even dare to dream about as a young adult.

“It’s certainly been unexpected from where I was a little over a year ago,” admitted the 24-year-old member at Royal Liverpool GC.

“I didn’t even have Challenge Tour status and I was just trying to play where I could. It happened so quickly.

“I played eight events after I turned pro and hadn’t done very well. But at least I got some experience.

“The big one for me was a Challenge Tour event in Turkey. I shot 62 which was the lowest round I’d ever shot.

“I was in contention all week and then finished in the top 10.

“Then I played in the British Masters and shot nine-under on day one and the confidence built ahead of my win in Italy.

“It all snowballed very quickly.

“You don’t know that until you get there – there is a worry that the guys are on a different level and are loads better.

“I had watched great tour events featuring the top players on TV and then suddenly I’m walking into a venue and joining these guys on the range. It’s pretty cool.

“As a fan, that was big at the beginning. But I’m trying to do as well as possible and that soon loses its appeal.

“I want to focus, do well, stay on tour and achieve more.”

Matthew Jordan watched Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy win the Claret Jug in 2006 and 2014. The Open is due to return to Hoylake in 2023. Picture by The R&A

How Hoylake heroes inspired Matthew

GROWING up in Hoylake – the location of one of the world’s great links courses at Royal Liverpool – meant Jordan was spoiled for inspiration as a youngster.

As a 10-year-old he remembers being obsessed when Tiger Woods rolled into town in 2006.

Tiger put on a ball-striking masterclass to win back-to-back Open Championships – and his first away from St Andrews.

“I got Adam Scott’s ball on a practice round. And I got Phil Mickelson’s autograph and Sergio Garcia’s too,” said Jordan.

“I didn’t get Tiger’s – I just froze when he walked past and didn’t have the courage to ask. But it stands out.”

Then four years later it was McIlroy who claimed the Claret Jug – on a Hoylake course that had spent 40 years off The R&A’s Open rota.

“It does inspire you,” said the Cheshire county player, who was 18 at the time.

“In 2014, that same summer, I got my A-levels and a place into Uni. But my dad said I should defer and try golf for a year or two.

“I hadn’t thought about it. I thought I’d play the summer and do something else. Maybe study psychology.

“Then I tried it and still never had the thought of where I would end up.

“It was only when I started doing well that the thoughts changed.

“It was a blessing in disguise I didn’t go to Uni when I see what has happened since.”

His big breakthrough, ironically came when winning the Hampshire Hog at North Hants GC, in 2016 – the home club of England Golf ambassador Justin Rose.

Matthew Jordan won the St Andrews Links Trophy in 2017. Picture by KENNY SMITH

Valderrama victory Jordan’s highlight of lockdown

JORDAN has had to adapt during lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But he has kept sharp – even winning a virtual event when top pros battled it out on online playing Valderrama in the European Tour BMW Indoor Invitational Series.

His next outing is the British Masters at Close House next month as his adventure continues.

“I was happy to chat with the England players as I enjoyed my time in the set-up working with great coaches and learning the game,” said Matthew.

“Hopefully, what I passed on and my story so far can help someone else make the same step.”

And of course when the Open returns to Hoylake in 2023, he has the chance to be part of the history of the Open Championship.

•Royal Liverpool was originally to host The Open in 2022 – before the 2020 and 2021 Opens were pushed back because of the coronavirus pandemic.

It will take place at Royal St George’s in 2021 a year later than planned, with the 150th Open being staged at the game’s historic home at St Andrews, in 2022.

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The 2019 St Andrews Links Trophy winner Jake Burnage – the 2020 championship has been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Picture by ST ANDREWS LINKS

THE St Andrews Links Trophy – which produces Europe’s strongest strokeplay field – has been cancelled because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The St Andrews Links Trust took the decision after the Government’s lockdown was brought in to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, earlier this week.

The cancellation also affects the St Rule Trophy – a leading strokeplay event in the women’s amateur calendar.

The men’s annual 72-hole championship played over two of the St Andrews Links Trust’s five championship courses – with three rounds normally played on the Old Course annually – was due to be played from June 5-7.

A spokesman for the Trust said: “Following discussions with the organising committees of both the St Andrews Links Trophy and St Rule Trophy, we have taken the decision today (Thursday), to cancel the 2020 staging of both of these annual amateur tournaments.”

The St Andrews Links Trophy’s most famous winner was Justin Rose, who was just 16 back in 2007 – the year he made his Walker Cup debut for the Great Britain and Ireland team against the USA as the youngest player in the competition’s history, having just turned 17.

The Trust’s director of golf John Grant said: “The health and wellbeing of our teams, entrants and their families is our number one priority.

“Following the closure of all our facilities and with many countries and regions recommending self-quarantine and continued restrictions on travel, we felt that it was not practical or appropriate to stage this year’s tournaments.

“With both events attracting entrants from around the world we wanted to make a decision as early as possible.

“We look forward to the return of both the St Andrews Links Trophy and St Rule Trophy to St Andrews Links in 2021.”

The St Andrews Links clubhouse

Just two have won St Andrews twice

CRAIG Watson – who captained Great Britain and Ireland}s Walker Cup team at Royal Liverpool last year – is one of only two players to have won the St Andrews Links Trophy twice in its 32-year history.

But he was beaten to the claim of being the first to win the championship twice by Walker Cup star Barclay Howard, who won at St Andrews in 1994 and 1996.

Watson claimed the famous trophy in 1992 – five years before he would claim the Amateur Championship at Royal St George’s.

The East Renfrewshire GC member returned to St Andrew’s two months after his debut in the 1998 Masters at Augusta to lift the trophy again.

Howard, who was a member of the 1995 Walker Cup team that conquered Tiger Woods & Co. at Royal Porthcrawl, was in his early 40s when he began winning big amateur event.

The Cochrane Castle GC member had been made redundant by Rolls-Royce in 1993 and dedicated, his time to playing full-time against the best amateurs.

Howard was the oldest GB&I player in both Walker Cups he was selected for – and was a team-mate of Justin Rose’s in the 1997 defeat at Quaker Ridge, in New York, after claiming the Silver Medal as the low amateur at The Open, at Royal Troon, a month earlier.

With so many winners in the 21st Century turning pro either after their victory at the Home of Golf, or within 12-24 months, the chances of a second victory – let alone back-to-back are very slim these days.

Many winners have gone on to secure their Walker Cup place by winning the St Andrews Links Trophy in an odd year – although the 2019 champion Jake Burnage, from Saunton, was not picked for the match at Hoylake, in September.

Royal Liverpool’s European Challenge Tour winner Matthew Jordan (2017), Hampshire’s Neil Raymond (2013) and Hertfordshire’s Tom Lewis (2011) are three of the five English winners in the last decade.

All three made their Walker Cup debuts in the year of their victory at St Andrews while Ireland’s Alan Dunbar – the winner in 2009 – is one of a small number who did not make the Walker Cup in the year they won at the Home of Golf.

Richard Finch – who won the 2002 English Amateur Championship at Walton Heath – won the St Andrews Links Trophy in June 2003

Finch turned pro after St Andrews Link win

YORKSHIRE’S Richard Finch turned pro in the summer of 2003 after winning the St Andrews Links Trophy.

The Hull GC member was also due to defend the English Amateur crown he won at Walton Heath, in August 2002, and missed out on a Walker Cup appearance at Ganton in September, after signing for Chubby Chandler’s ISM Group.

Wales’ Llewellyn Matthews – the wire-to-wire winner in 2007 – and Scotland’s Lloyd Saltman, who lifted the trophy in front of the famous R&A clubhouse in 2005, both made the Walker Cup team after their victories.

Meanwhile Essex’s two winners – Matthew Southgate (2010) and Oliver Fisher (2006) – went on to earn their European Tour cards.

Fisher also broke Rose’s record when making his Walker Cup debut in 2005 as a 16-year-old.

As well as Saltman, a member at Craigielaw, Scottish winners include Grant Forrest (2014), who also hails from the same club, Carnoustie’s Kier McNicoll (2008) and Leven’s Jamie McLeary (2004).

The latter followed West Linton’s Simon McKenzie’s triumph in 2002 and Colville Park’s Steve O’Hara in 2001, who went on to play in GB&I’s famous win at Sea Island that August.

The team – led by Peter McEvoy – contained future PGA Tour winners Luke Donald and Graeme McDowell – while Scotland’s Marc Warren, Essex’s Richard McEvoy and three-time Faldo Series winner Nick Dougherty all went on to win on the European Tour.

It was the first GB&I team to successfully defend the Walker Cup by winning on US soil.

The winners of the St Andrews Links Trophy have their photo taken standing on the famous Swilcan Bridge, which runs across the 18th fairway on the Old Course.

Huizing’s low-total record in St Andrews Links Trophy

HOLLAND’S Daan Huizing holds the championship record for the lowest 72-hole total in the St Andrews Links Trophy.

The Dutchman won with a 23-under par total of 264 – playing one round on the New and three on the Old.

That was four shots better than Jake Burnage’s winning total in 2019 when the Devon ace played the Jubilee and the Old.

The first-ever winner was Russell Claydon, from Cambridge’s Gog Magog GC, back in 1989.

Australian Stuart Bovier, who succeeded Claydon, Holland’s Daan Huizing (2012) and Italy’s Federico Zucchetti (2015) are the only three overseas winners in the last 32 years.

In total, 11 Englishmen and 11 Scotsmen have won the title with Ireland providing two of the winners in the last four years – Conor O’Rourke in 2016, and John Murphy in 2018.

The date in the men’s amateur calendar clashes with a number of English counties annual championships, which has meant some of England’s top players over the past two decades have missed out on winning their own county championship.

That list includes Hampshire’s Sam Hutsby, Scott Gregory and Harry Ellis who all reached the final of The Amateur Championship, while Corhampton’s Neil Raymond achieved a rare double by winning the Brabazon (twice in 2011 and 2012 ) as well as the St Andrews Links in 2013.

The 11th hole on the Jubilee Course, which is used regularly in the St Andrews Links Trophy

Jubilee and New used as second course for Links Trophy

THE second course used for the St Andrews Links Trophy normally rotates between the Jubilee and the New.

Out a field of 144 – determined by the Official World Golf Rankings and a number of nominations from national golf unions – the top 40 players after playing a round on each course, play 36 holes on the Old Course.

In the past there have been times when used of the Old has been restricted, normally when St Andrews is playing host to the Open Championship in the same year.

And normally every five years, the players get to play the Old Course when the stands for The Open, plus the relevant signage, is already in place.

The championships in 1999 and 2000 were reduced to 36 holes because of the weather, while the 2015 event was cut to 54 holes for the same reason.

The ninth hole on the New Course, also used regularly for the St Andrews Links Trophy

Week-long St Andrews festival ‘remains on’

THE St Andrews Links Trust also organises a week-long festival of amateur events each August for players of all ages and abilities which are still scheduled to take place at present.

The trust spokesman said: “The annual fortnight of competition hosted by St Andrews Links Trust for amateurs of all ages and abilities in August, including the St Andrews Boys’ Open, remains in the diary at present.”

But they are subject to “continued monitoring and review,” he added.

“If there is any change in their status entrants will be contacted immediately,” said the spokesman.

The Links Trust also organises the St Andrews Junior Ladies’ Open, and the Eden and Strathtyrum Trophies every summer.

The organising committees of the two cancelled events – the St Andrews Links and St Rule Trophy – are committed to refunding all entry payments within 10-14 days.

“Entrants do not need to contact the tournament team in order to request a refund, these will be processed automatically via the original payment method,” said the trust spokesman.

•Entries for the 2020 Boys’ and Junior Ladies’ Open close in June. For details click here.

Allyn Dick, from Kingsfield Golf Club, who won the Eden Trophy in 2019. It was first played for back in 1919. Picture by ST ANDREWS LINKS TRUST

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Victor Perez, the Frenchman who lives in Dundee, shot an eight-under 64 at Kingsbarns, in the third round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

DUNDEE-based Frenchman Victor Perez and Essex’s Matthew Southgate will enter the final round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in a share of the lead, with both players chasing a maiden European Tour title.

The famous St Andrews Old Course will play host on the final day and with the wind set to kick up, it will be all to play for among the chasing pack which features Cheshire’s Paul Waring, American Ryder Cup player Tony Finau and former World No, 1 Luke Donald.

But Perez and Southgate are in pole position at the Home of Golf, as they sit atop the leaderboard with a two-stroke advantage on 20-under par.

And Southgate will be looking to write a piece of St Andrews history by becoming the first player to win the St Andrews Links Trophy – one of the top amateur trophies – and the Alfred Dunhill Links, one of the most prestigrious on the European Tour.

Perez, who lives with his partner in nearby Dundee will be vying for a first European Tour victory in his rookie season, having graduated from the European Challenge Tour last year.

The 27-year-old carded an eight-under 64 at Kingsbarns Golf Links which included a run of five successive birdies.

Perez said: “It was awesome. Bit windier today. Out of all the courses, we got a bit fortunate to play here today, being a bit wider off the tee. Maybe Carnoustie would have been the tougher course today.

“I played great and hit the ball really well. Felt like I made a couple of putts. I didn’t make any bombs out there or anything.

“Missed a short one on eight but the rest of the ball-striking was class today and I was really pleased with nine birdies again, obviously.”

Southgate, meanwhile, is making his 140^th appearance on Tour and the closest he has come was a share of second place at the 2017 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.

The 30-year-old signed for a seven-under 65 at the Old Course after finishing with a birdie at the ninth, his 18^th.

Matthew Southgate, who won the 2010 St Andrews Links – played over three rounds on the Old Course, and one at either the neighbouring New or Jubilee Courses, said: “I didn’t miss many shots and got the speed of the greens really good.

“I set up so many chances. I was always bound to make a good fistful of them. Not much you can say really. Just really solid all day.

“My swing feels very solid. I feel very happy in my own head at the minute and playing with such a clear mind and just easy swing thoughts.

“The biggest job tomorrow is going to be keeping me in check rather than the golf swing. I’m hitting the ball fantastic the first three days, so there’s no reason why I can’t shoot another good score.

“Someone is going to post a good number, so it’s going to take a good score to get the win.

“I’m so passionate about winning tournaments and being here at the Home of Golf, tomorrow is going to be a difficult one to just keep myself in check and keep producing what I have done the first three days.”

Waring, who grew up playing links golf at the Wirral, and won the 2005 English Amateur Championship at his home club Bromborough, said: “Anything under par around Carnoustie you always take – especially with quite a stiff breeze out there.

“Pleased to shoot as low as I did and get myself involved with the tournament.

“I think when I’m happy and I’m having fun, I feel like I’m at my best. So, this week kind of blends well into the two elements for me.

“If I get a little bit too into it, a little bit sort of too strict on myself, it can have negative effects, said 34-year-old Waring, whose first win came in last year’s Nordea Masters.

“When I’m bouncing around and having a laugh, it’s the true me. It’s showing this season how I’m playing. Enjoying myself a bit more.”

Finau said: “I was happy with the way I played. Missed a short one on 17, but outside of that I played really nicely.

“I thought it was tough. That front nine, every hole was into the wind. It was quite cool this morning when we teed off, so a lot of those holes played a lot harder than they normally do with the wind.

“I was happy to get around the front nine in a couple under and I was able to score on the back nine,” said Finau, whose only PGA Tour win came in Puerto Rico, three years ago.

“It’s very cool to be at the Home of Golf. The Old Course, there’s nothing like it. So, to be able to tee it up tomorrow and play and have a chance to win a golf tournament here is going to be something special,” added Finau.

For final round scores click here.

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