Why this 200-1 shot could be the surprise package at Royal Portrush
Last updated:
We’ve already seen one shock major winner in 2025. Might we see another at The Open?
Question: Who are the two players to have finished inside the top 10 in the last two editions of The Open?
Not easy, is it? Think you’ve got it? I’ll forgive you if you thought Scottie Scheffler was one of them. He’s the safe bet, right? Except in this instance, he isn’t.
I can guess how your thought process went after that. There’s Rory McIlroy obviously. Actually, Xander Schauffele has been pretty consistent in majors. So too Tyrrell Hatton. Tommy Fleetwood. Collin Morikawa. Shane Lowry. Robert MacIntyre.
They are all good shouts. And yet, well, you probably know where this is going. Like Scheffler, none of them featured on the first page of the leaderboard at Hoylake and Troon.
The duo who did are not even listed in the top 70 of the World Rankings right now, albeit it still seems strange to see Jon Rahm, the 2023 Masters champion, languishing down in 72nd place.
The Spaniard’s form on LIV and links golf courses marks him out as a serious contender in the eyes of many this week, which is perhaps more than can be said about the other man who is almost as unfancied as Ben Curtis was heading into the Open all those years ago.
I am, of course, referring to unheralded Englishman Matthew Jordan who, despite missing the cut at the Scottish Open last week, has a body of work which is better than most on links golf courses.
As an amateur, Jordan won the St Andrews Trophy in 2017 and then backed it up by winning the Lytham Trophy by a whopping nine strokes a year later. Granted, that success hasn’t quite carried over into the professional ranks, as his world ranking of 152 would testify, but he is well established as one of the grittiest, most likeable players on the DP World Tour.
Today, he is smiling his way through our interview in a way which suggests he’s not entirely used to being in the spotlight. So much has happened over the last two years that it’s easy to forget his fairytale finish at his home course of Royal Liverpool two years ago. Brian Harman was running away with it up front, but Jordan’s birdie on the 72nd hole was good enough to grab him a share of 10th place.
That backdoor top-10 got him into the field for Troon last year, where he repeated the feat with four rounds of 71. A nice story, you might think, but there is a little more to it than that.
Put all eight scores together from his last two visits to play in golf’s oldest major, and you can make a case that he’s deserving of a little more attention than bookmakers are currently giving him credit for.
Consider the facts: His combined total of four under par puts him fourth on the list of players with the best aggregate score at The Open since 2023. The others ahead of him are Rahm, Schauffele and Jason Day.
“Yeah, that’s pretty good company to keep,” he says, concealing his surprise. “Finishing 10th twice, not coming across as a fluke or anything like that, and being able to prove myself once again is very satisfying.”
Putting two and two together means we’re not overreaching by branding him as a links specialist. Growing up as a member of Royal Liverpool means he is probably deserving of that tag, a fact he acknowledges when discussing his upbringing and preparation.
“It just comes more naturally to me,” he says, smiling again. “Hoylake has been my home course since a young age. My dad was also a member there, so I guess I’ve just got used to it. I understand it, some parts more than most.
“When I go home, I practise there and because of the way I practise at home, my bag is already built for courses like this. I’m used to the ground, the conditions, the weather… all the kinds of stuff that links golf is associated with.”
While Jordan appears to have most of the nuances figured out, you don’t have to search too hard to find players who have made multiple changes to their bags this week to compensate for the firm and fast conditions at Royal Portrush.
Talk of mini drivers and 2-irons has been the dominant topic on the driving range in the build-up, with tour reps working overtime to satisfy the needs and wants of staffers.
Jordan is a lot less demanding in that sense and is far more considered and cautious in his decision-making. He is currently in the process of testing Callaway’s new MB irons, but has opted to stick with the same specs and MB blades that have been in his bag since 2018 because of the familiarity and comfort.
They got plenty of use on a visit to Portrush for the first time two weeks ago and though he didn’t come close to troubling the course record, he did get to play the Dunluce at its brutal and brilliant best.
“The weather will undoubtedly play a part, and there are obvious nuances to it with how I see the downhill holes with the prevailing wind and how quite a few of the greens have false fronts,” he says.
“Trying to judge certain shots will be tricky, but the same rules apply on every links golf course, right? Avoid the pot bunkers, keep the ball under the wind, watch out for flyers out of the rough.
“I shot one or two over but that wasn’t too bad because we played it in quite strong wind. And the funny thing is, I remember playing at Troon a couple of times beforehand, shooting over par, and thinking, ‘This is quite difficult’. But I ended up doing OK there so maybe the trick is to make it seem tough to begin with.”
The nervous laughter and smile suggests Jordan is not one to get too caught up in the volatility of golf. Instead, he seems to take everything in his stride, which is probably the best attitude to have when tackling an unforgiving and unpredictable links golf course.
So far, he’s proven adept at handling pretty much everything the R&A has thrown his way – and done so in a manner which belies his odds of 200-1 this week. It might be a stretch to put him in the same conversation as the Rory McIlroys or Jon Rahms of this world, but few fancied JJ Spaun to write his Cinderella story at the US Open and look how that worked out.
Jordan might just be that guy this week.
-
Matthew Jordan has a sneakily good record at the Open Championship.
