A memorable week for Hoylake’s Matthew Jordan has ended with him outperforming some of golf’s top names on the final leaderboard at The Open.
He finished four under par, tied in 10th position with fellow Englishman Tommy Fleetwood and US player Max Homa.
For the 27 year-old, who has been a member of Royal Liverpool since he was seven, it marks a remarkable journey from being an autograph hunter in 2006 and 2014, to signing autographs himself.
He received rapturous applause from the grandstand at the 18th green as he putted a birdie to finish the tournament.
Speaking before the final round, he described it as “the best week of my life, so far”.
Rounds of 69, 72, 69 and 70 mean he walks away with just shy of £240,000 in prize money.
The Open title was won by Brian Harman from the US, who set the pace with a round of 65 on Friday and proved unstoppable, finishing six shots clear on 13 under par, with Tom Kim from South Korea runner-up on seven under.
Harman joins Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods on the list of winners at Hoylake since it began hosting the event again.
On being presented with the Claret Jug, he said: “I got to thank my wife, my family back home. I sure miss them. I can’t wait to get back to them tomorrow. First I’m going to have me a couple of pints out of this here trophy, I believe.
“This golf course was a real test. It was set up so great, even with the weather, so to all the superintendents and everyone that helped put it together, thank you so much. The greens were perfect, the golf course was excellent – thank you.
“Lastly, I want to thank The R&A for putting together such an incredible Championship. I couldn’t be happier to be its Champion.
“And to all the fans, all the nice words and all the people back home who were rooting me on, I appreciate it so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
The final leaderboard can be found at https://www.theopen.com/leaderboard.
Photo credits: The Open