After a storm, there will always be a beautiful day! This pretty much sums up the golf career of Matthew Baldwin. The Englishman turned professional in 2008 but had to wait four years to become a member of the DP World Tour. He showed the golf world that all those years of waiting were truly worth it. At 26, he made the cut in his US Open and Open Championship debut.

Not only that, but Baldwin finished tied for 23rd at the latter, which is a huge deal for someone entering the field for the first time. However, in the game of golf, things can change at any moment, and that is exactly what happened to Baldwin.

Matthew Baldwin lost his DP World Tour card due to injuries

Baldwin held full-time DP World Tour privileges for three seasons. He even finished runner-up at the Nelson Mandela Championship in 2014, which was his best finish in those three years. Unfortunately, things began to change for the rising star the following year. He suffered an injury, which started to affect his game. After a prolonged season of struggles, he lost his card in 2016.

Two years later, after several setbacks in 2018, Baldwin finally made it back to the European Tour by advancing through Qualifying School. He would have easily returned through the Challenge Tour in 2021 but missed out after the Covid-19 pandemic caused the categories to be frozen. Despite this, Baldwin did not give up and kept persevering.

Ahead of the 2022 Challenge Tour, he had almost given up on golf. He worked at Amazon driving a van for three or four months to get through the winter before the event started. “I learned a lot from that. I learned that there are other things that I could do in life, but I also learned that I wanted to play golf,” he told the reporters at Wentworth. His determination paid off, and he regained his card that year.

Matthew Baldwin has not been able to consistently show his exceptional golf skills due to the many hurdles life has thrown at him. However, in dire need of an exemption for the 2025 season, it looks like the Englishman is back in form at just the right time.

Matthew Baldwin making it to the headlines

After going through qualifying school six times in a row, Baldwin returned to the main tour last year, earning his only pro win at the SDC Championship in South Africa. However, his exemption will come to an end when the 2024 season concludes. He is currently ranked 363 on the OWGR list, but it looks like Baldwin is set for one of the greatest weekends of his career. He made his second appearance at the BMW Championship this year.

As the second round concluded a few hours ago, the 38-year-old took the lead by three strokes at the flagship event of the European Tour. He shot an impressive 6-under 66, bringing his total score to a whopping 13-under. It’s worth noting that most of the pros, including DP World Tour No. 1 Rory McIlroy, were struggling to get close to his score. “At the end of the day, we are all here trying our hardest. At times, my hardest wasn’t good enough. Now I’m in a good place, mentally and physically, and enjoying what I’m doing,” he said.

Do you think? Baldwin will come out victorious with 36 holes remaining? Stay tuned to find out!