Mathieu Wood
Matt Baldwin has played Royal Birkdale hundreds of times, but never like this.
On Thursday morning, the Englishman will hit the opening tee shot of The 154th Open at the club he has called home since he was 17.
Born in Southport, he lives only a few miles from the world-renowned venue, and along with Tommy Fleetwood is one of two hometown boys in the field.
Baldwin secured his spot at golf’s oldest championship through Final Qualifying at Dundonald Links last month, describing the prospect of competing for the Claret Jug at Birkdale as “the ultimate”.
Now that the week is here, the occasion – and opportunity – that awaits is not lost on him.
"I'm 40 years old now and the next time The Open probably comes around to Royal Birkdale, I'll probably be closing in on 50," Baldwin told the DP World Tour.
"I thought realistically it would be my last chance to do it. I wouldn't say I put more pressure on myself than I normally would, but I knew the incentive was there, shall we say."
The joy and, perhaps, relief at finishing among the top five qualifiers at Dundonald Links - a course he had never played before - was evident to hear from his immediate reaction with a small pool of assembled media in Scotland.
Asked what it meant, he said: "Everything, really. I’m a Southport lad through and through."
The expression 'dream come true' is often overused in sport, but in Baldwin's case it is apt.
A product of Park Golf Club – a venue that also nurtured talents like Fleetwood and Lee Slattery – Baldwin has previously played at The Open on three occasions, most recently at Royal Portrush in 2019.
Having also played at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2012, and Royal Liverpool in 2014, he is poised to complete the set of venues on the Open rota on the northwest coast of England.
Luck would so have it that Baldwin will make his 300th DP World Tour start this week.
On his 200th, he won his first and only DP World Tour title to date at the SDC Championship in March 2023.
Baldwin might be an outsider, amid the global talent in action, but he cannot be discounted over the revamped Birkdale layout which is staging an Open Championship for an 11th time.
So, what of his chances of marking another landmark in style?
"One of my lifelong dreams was to win on Tour, and I've been fortunate that I've achieved that," he said. "I'd like to do it again, of course.
"Another target was to play an Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
"At the end of the day, I guess you've got to be in it to win it. I've got the opportunity to do that as well."
A fan when the Open was last at his home club in 2008 and 2017, he is now the local expert and might be an in-demand partner for a practice round this week.
"I remember walking around with Beef (Andrew Johnston) in one of the practice rounds," he recalled. "He was taught at the time by one of my coaches.
"I sat on the front balcony [of the clubhouse] in 2008 when (Pádraig) Harrington won too."
Despite his ties to Birkdale, there can be no denying Baldwin is somewhat in the shadows of World Number Nine and fellow local favourite Fleetwood this week.
The pair played junior golf together, forming a successful foursomes partnership at county level, before they both went on to graduate to the DP World Tour from the HotelPlanner Tour in 2011.
In his rookie DP World Tour season, Baldwin appeared at not one, but two Majors – the second of which saw him finishing in a tie for 23rd.
Recalling his past Major experiences and how they may benefit him, he said: "I played the 2012 U.S. Open just before my Open debut [at Lytham], so I thought I knew what to expect but then at the same time the U.S. Open is totally different.
"I didn't have my friends and family and the support, whereas playing in my first Open at Royal Lytham was amazing.
"To play all four rounds and actually finish in quite a decent position made it all the more incredible. It's hopefully something that I can call upon for Birkdale.”
A professional since 2008, Baldwin comfortably retained his DP World Tour card in his opening three seasons, qualifying for the DP World Tour Championship in 2014.
Injuries took their toll in 2015, and by 2016 he had lost his card. He was back on Tour for the 2018 season after coming through the Qualifying School and would have been back in 2021 via the HotelPlanner Tour but missed out after the categories were frozen due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
But after earning promotion back to the DP World Tour through a 19th-place finish on the HotelPlanner Tour’s Road to Mallorca Rankings in 2022, having briefly worked as an Amazon delivery driver during the winter months a year earlier, he went on to claim victory – 11 years in the making – at St. Francis Links in South Africa.
Having regained his DP World Tour playing rights for this season through Qualifying School last year, his membership category did not get him into either the Genesis Scottish Open or the ISCO Championship last week.
Instead, he opted to take up the chance of a "nice distraction" in playing on the HotelPlanner Tour at the German Challenge powered by VcG. Despite a missed cut, the extra time for preparation – perhaps mentally as much as anything - may serve him well.
"At the end of the day, I go out and try to play my best every time I play golf,” he said of how he is approaching a week unlike any other.
"The last 18 months have been very frustrating. I feel like I've played a lot of good golf [but] I've [just] not got the results I would have liked from that.
"You've got to show resilience and keep going, not wait for your turn, but just try your best to make it happen.
"If this is the springboard to do that, then amazing."
The last 18 months have been very frustrating.... You've got to show resilience and keep going, not wait for your turn, but just try your best to make it happen.
Baldwin can expect a rousing ovation from those ever-enthusiastic fans that make their way to catch the earliest glimpses of action as the final men's Major Championship of the year gets under way.
Chief among his supporters for his 6:35am tee time will likely be his wife, Claire.
"Whatever I want to do, my wife stops what she's doing and we do it together,” he said. “I can't thank her enough for that really.
"She's always got my back and she's always pushing me to do well. At the same time, she's pushing me to weirdly not do as well if it's not something that I'm enjoying, she'll tell me to take a step back and have a break.
“She's just an incredible source of support."
Plenty might have reason to be overcome with fear at the spotlight he will face over the coming days in the lead up to the first round getting under way, but Baldwin appears intent on relishing the challenge.
After all, few are so lucky to have their dreams play out.
