Englishman Matthew Jordan showed off his links prowess as he fired a 63 at The Old Course, St Andrews to share the lead with Darius van Driel and Ryan Brehm after the first round of the 2025 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Jordan produced a brilliant burst of scoring on the front nine as he went birdie-birdie-eagle-eagle from the third.
He made four more birdies in the first seven holes after the turn to hit the front on his own but dropped a shot on the 17th to fall back into a share of the lead on nine under par.
The Englishman almost finished with a hole-out eagle on the 18th, which would have seen him tie the course record, but his approach hit the flag and landed 22 feet from the cup, leaving him to settle for a closing par.
American Brehm, ranked 1407th in the world, shone brightly at Kingsbarns Golf Links as he made an eagle and seven birdies in a flawless 63.
Dutchman Van Driel made a total of nine birdies, including seven in a row from the 15th, as he too signed for a 63.
The trio lead by one shot ahead of two-time Major Champion Dustin Johnson and Danes Jacob Skov Olesen and Jeff Winther on eight under.
Johnson and Olesen made the most of favourable conditions at the difficult Carnoustie Golf Links on day one, giving themselves the perfect platform for the rest of the week.
Jack Senior and Dery Desmond lead the team competition by three on 17 under par after a productive first day at The Old Course.
Jordan, who is no stranger to links golf as a member at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, said: "It was brilliant. Any time you get to play this place, especially with no wind, it's just so enjoyable.
"I think that's probably the first time I've gone eagle-eagle in a tournament, so that certainly helps, and then all of a sudden just trying to keep carrying it on."
Brehm, who is making his debut at this event, said: "There's really nothing not to be pleased about.
"It's just an amazing place. This is my first time over here, and I was pretty much in awe on every fairway, and I hit a lot of fairways, which is kind of rare for me. It was a lot of fun."
Van Driel said: "It's a little bit easier with the wind that's not as strong as I played here. So everybody is going low.
"It was nice to be out there, but a lot of golf left to play."
europeantour.com
Bryan Angus (edit)
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