Matthew Baldwin

Started playing golf around the age of three when his grandfather took him out to the local field to play. Played for England Boys for two years, winning the Jacques Leglise Trophy in 2004, and served as the captain of the Boys' team before spending three years in the England Elite squad. Took part in the Home Internationals in 2007 before turning pro the following year. Qualified for a select few Challenge Tour events in 2010 through the Allianz Tour and special invites before playing his way into a category for the 2011 season. Hit the ground running with two top-10 finishes in the opening two tournaments of the season before claiming his first win at the Fred Olsen Challenge de Espana, beating Frenchman Julien Guerrier in a playoff. That win helped him to a 10th place finish in the Challenge Tour Rankings, earning him a card for the 2012 European Tour. His grandfather, Ronald Ryder, represented England and Great Britain in rugby, making his name at Warrington. Matthew is a big Liverpool FC fan.
2012 Notes: Played in 26 European events, with two top-10s, best finish T-5th Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open. He finished 72nd in the Race to Dubai. Also, qualified for the U.S. Open and British Open making the cut in both.
2013 Notes: Played in 31 European events, with two top-tens, best finish T-5th Trophee Hassan II. Ended the year 87th in the Race to Dubai.
2014 Notes: He made the breakthrough into the top 60 on the European Tour Order of Merit thanks to a number of impressive top-ten finishes, including runner-up at The Nelson Mandela Championships and 5th at the Joburg Open in South Africa at the start of the year. He followed that up with 3rd at the Irish Open and 5th at the French Open against much stronger fields, while also appearing in the Open at Hoylake.
2015 Notes: He struggled early in the year, a T-23rd at Qatar was his best finish in his first nine starts. But things grew serious when he traveled to China for the Volvo China Open but he never was able to play. He was forced to spend a couple of weeks in China because he wasn't strong enough for the long-haul flight back to England. After returning home and still feeling bad after the BMW PGA he ended up in the hospital. His illness was a childhood condition that flared up at the age of 29. It wasn't a life-threatening condition but to fix things he needed two operations. He couldn't play golf for months and was able to spend a lot of time with his girlfriend, family, and friends, before returning to golf at the Alfred Dunhill in December.
2016 Notes: Was playing the year on a medical exemption. Got to play in 31 European Tour events making 7 cuts. Best finish was T-26th at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship. He earned euro67,103 which placed him 177th in the Race to Dubai.
2017 Notes: Only played twice on the European Tour, T-26th at the Open de Portugal and T-23rd at the Lyoness Open. Played in 23 Challenge Tour events making 15 cuts with two top-ten finishes. Best was 7th at the Andalucia Costa del Sol Match Play 9. He earned euro38,640 and was 58th in the order of merit.
2018 Notes: Played in 24 European Tour events making 11 cuts with 2 top-ten finishes. Best was 9th in the Belgian Knockout, he earned euro141,569 and was 164th in the Race to Dubai.
2019 Notes: Best finish on the European Tour, T-45th at the Oman Open.

2019 Challenge Tour Record
Tournament Pos Earnings R1 R2 R3 R4 Total Par
Challenge de Espana T13 Euro3,000.00 69 74 71 68 282 -6
D+D REAL Czech Challenge Cut - 72 72 144 +2
Swiss Challenge Presented by Swiss Golf T-35 Euro1,276.50 68 70 74 70 282 -2
Hauts de France - Pas de Calais Golf Open T-58 Euro617.50 74 71 75 73 293 +9
Andalucia - Costa del Sol Match Play 9 Cut - 75 73 148 +6
Italian Challenge Open Eneos Motor Oil Cut - 74 77 151 +7
D+D REAL Slovakia Challenge T-39 Euro1,160.00 70 70 72 70 282 -6