England's Matthew Jordan made the most of a tournament invite to card a brilliant course record of 63 in the first round of the British Masters.
Playing just his 12th event as a professional, Jordan defied wet and chilly conditions at Hillside to fire nine birdies and enjoy a two-shot lead over Sweden's Marcus Kinhult.
The 23-year-old from nearby Hoylake turned professional in September 2018 after a stellar amateur career which saw him reach fifth in the world rankings and enjoy a nine-shot victory in the prestigious Lytham Trophy.
Wishing all at @Hillside_GC a successful event this week and sending luck to our Member Matthew Jordan 🏌️♂️@matthew_jordan7 @EuropeanTour @british_masters #britishmasters #golf pic.twitter.com/qBC5XL3FVv — Royal Liverpool Golf (@RLGCHoylake) May 9, 2019
"I've known him for a long time, we all know what he's capable of," said tournament host Tommy Fleetwood, who was five shots off the lead after an opening 68.
"That's a tremendous first round and I think it will be good for him now.
"I've seen some of his scores and he's not played as well as I know he wants to this year, but when you're first turning pro it's different and now the experience being at the top of the leaderboard for a few days will be really, really good."
Jordan's best result to date is a tie for seventh in a Challenge Tour event in Turkey, where he carded a second round of 62 a fortnight ago.
9 under par ✅Course record ✅ What a day for Matthew Jordan. pic.twitter.com/3o5shTWDiH — The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) May 9, 2019
"You never quite expect it," he said. "I knew I had been playing quite well and just from the get-go it started perfectly and from then on I just kept it going. I just tried to shoot as low as I could because I thought the guys out there, they are good as well.
"You start to realise you're doing quite well because more people turn up and you see a couple of cameras. I was nervous maybe for a couple of holes, like around 11 and 12, and then I settled back into it which was strange."
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