Matthew Jordan

Matthew Jordan said his birdie on 18 was a gift for all who have believed in him after he toasted a perfect week at The 151st Open.

A gaggle of friends, family and his fellow Royal Liverpool members have followed the 27-year-old’s every move, and his putt on the last secured a top-10 finish – level with his fellow Merseysider Tommy Fleetwood and Max Homa, and one stroke ahead of major champions Hideki Matsuyama and Henrik Stenson, and world number five Viktor Hovland.

Jordan could not stop smiling when he finished his round in front of a full 18th grandstand.

His week, including hitting the first shot of the Championship, and three rounds under par could hardly have gone better.

A bogey on 17 in his final round threatened to dampen the occasion ever so slightly but he rebounded in style with a sensational end to a sensational week.

“It was just the perfect finish to what has been the most unbelievable week,” he said.

“Just rolling that in, I just so wanted to knock it in just for everyone who's supported me, just to go mental one last time. They stuck with me even in the rain like this.

“Just to be able to do it for them and have that kind of ultimate feeling, as it were, to birdie the last at my home course at The Open is just brilliant.

“I saw my dad. I think he's been out all day in the rain. I best give him a big hug, it's the least I can do. He was obviously extremely proud.”

This was not Jordan’s first Open – he also played in The 150th at St Andrews last year – but it was by far the most significant.

Rounds of 69-72-69-70 combined for four-under-par, nine strokes off Champion Brian Harman, and only three off Tom Kim, Sepp Straka, Jason Day and Jon Rahm, who tied for second.

After proving he can mix it with the best in the world at the sharp end of a major, his focus must now shift to what comes next.

“Who knows what this can do for me,” he said.

“I think first and foremost, to be able to play and perform under the kind of the pressure that I felt all week – I haven't felt calm or normal the whole time – is great because it lets me focus and it kind of makes every shot means something.

“For me, certainly performing under the pressure, that's the biggest takeaway that I'll have from it, and as I say, who knows what this will do.

“I know I can do well. I know I can perform like I have or even better than this. It's just doing it, and that's what I did this week.”

Jordan will take it round by round – however, true to form, that round takes place at Royal Liverpool.

“My girlfriend's dad and her sister's fiancé, they wanted to play here the week after The Open, so I think I'm playing here Saturday with them,” he said.

“I don’t think they will be happy because they don't play too regularly. So that'll just be more fun, which I think is probably what I'll need for the next week.”

Fun is exactly what Jordan brought to The 151st Open.