The DP World Tour star can’t remember a time when he never had his own set of clubs, graduating from a toy set to “proper” equipment at a very young age.

Asked the first time he played golf, he told bunkered magazine: “I was about two years old.

“Ever since I could walk, I had plastic clubs and then I had a proper club when I was three or four.

“There are videos of me hitting balls at that age.”

And Matthew broke par for the first time when he was 15 years old.

He recalled: “I was probably off a three handicap then but the best year was actually the next year, because when I was 16, I shot 69 off our Open tees at Hoylake.

“I shot 65 the week after as well, so then I got to plus one when I was 16.”

Matthew also spoke of his pride at being recognised by a group of children while with some of his friends.

He said: “People at my club say ‘well done’ and the odd visitor from around there could have [recognised me] in the early days.

“But I remember the day after The Open [in 2023], on Monday, I was with a couple of friends and a few kids were hanging around.

“They were like, ‘Oh, can we have a picture?’ I remember that, and that was in front of my mates, so that made me feel like I was even bigger.”