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.

“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.

“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.”