Jackson Suber가 Royal Birkdale에서 영광의 길로 올랐다. British Open 첫날 5언더 65를 기록하며 필드를 1타 차로 주도하고 있다. 메이저 챔피언십 3번째 진출에서 6개의 버디와 17번 홀 이글로 자신의 이름을 리더보드 맨 위에 올렸다.
01링크스 골프는 처음, 유럽도 처음
Suber에게 The Open은 단순한 메이저 진출이 아니다. 이것이 그의 첫 번째 링크스 경험이고, 유럽 방문 자체도 처음이다. 오프닝 라운드 전 단 27홀의 연습만 했고, 월요일 처음 링크스 티를 밟았다.
지난주 목요일이나 금요일에 Birkdale의 모든 홀 유튜브 영상을 봤어요. 그 외에는 스탯 담당자가 '팟 벙커는 피해야 해'라고 말해줄 정도였어요.Jackson Suber
Tampa 출신의 Suber는 아이언 스페셜리스트로, Royal Birkdale의 까칠한 조건이 그의 강점을 살렸다. 코스가 단단하고 건조한 상태여서 그의 칩 샷에 유리했고, 롱 아이언 플라이트도 그에게 맞았다.
02예상밖의 Open 진출
Suber는 RBC Canadian Open에서 T4를 기록하며 Open Qualifying Series를 통해 진출했다. TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley의 상위 3명 중 이미 면제권이 있던 Matt Fitzpatrick(2위)과 Viktor Hovland(3위)를 제외하고, 우승자 Bud Cauley와 함께 Suber가 다음 진출자 중 한 명이 되었다.
03메이저 무대에서의 성장
Suber의 메이저 경험은 제한적이었다. 2024 U.S. Open (Pinehurst)에서 73위, 지난달 U.S. Open (Shinnecock Hills)에서는 컷 미스였다. 하지만 지난 2개월간의 폼은 달라졌다.
04탈진에서 부활
Suber는 Ole Miss에서 2022년 PGA TOUR University 클래스 9위로 졸업했고, PGA TOUR Canada를 거쳐 Korn Ferry Tour로 진출했다. 2023년은 극적인 패배였다. 상위 30위 이내(PGA 카드 기준)에서 '마치 슬로우 모션 자동차 충돌 같은' 결말을 맞았다.
손에 잡힐 듯 했던 것이 모래처럼 빠져나가는 경험. 신체적으로, 정서적으로 힘든 일이죠. 그 안에서 배우는 건 분명했고, 돌아와서 최선을 다했어요.Jonathan Randolph (Suber의 멘토이자 전 PGA 투어 프로)
2024년 Suber는 새로운 각오로 돌아왔다. Korn Ferry Tour에서 톱25 피니시 10개, 그 중 톱5 피니시 4개를 기록했고, 최종 포인트 상위 20위에 마무리하며 2025 PGA 카드를 따냈다. 작년 FedExCup에서는 117위로 2026년 조건부 상태가 되었다.
05아이언의 대가
Suber의 자신감은 아이언에서 나온다. 투어에서 어프로치 카테고리 상위 5위 랭크를 기록하고 있으며, Strokes Gained: Approach에서 20위, Strokes Gained: Total에서 상위 3분의 1에 위치한다.
최근 그는 Titleist GTS3 드라이버로 바꾸는 등 장비 변화도 가했다. 기어를 자주 바꾸지 않는 Suber이기에 이 결정은 특별하다.
미스 샷에서 훨씬 일관성 있어요. 토우볼이 공중에서 더 잘 유지되고 옆으로 많이 나가지 않으면서 스핀도 유지돼요. 왼쪽 미스 경향이 있는 저에겐 토우볼이 더 라인을 유지하고 더 멀리 날아간다는 게 도움이 돼요.Jackson Suber
실제로 1년 사이에 그의 드라이브 성적도 향상됐다. 루키 시절 드라이브에서 타수를 잃던 것에서 벗어났고, 최대 거리가 16야드 증가했다. 목요일 British Open에서도 그는 어프로치에서 필드 3위의 SG 기록을 세웠다.
06두 달간의 일관된 상승
Suber가 리더보드 정상에 있는 것이 놀랍다면, 최근 2개월의 흐름을 보면 충분히 예상 가능한 결과다. 5월 THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson 이후 6경기에서 톱6을 3번 포함해 4개의 톱25 피니시를 거뒀다. 마지막 John Deere Classic에서는 2라운드에서 33칸 뛰어올라 리드를 잡으며 T6으로 마무리했다.
지금 Suber는 조건부 상태에서 U.S. Open과 The Open을 모두 진출했고, Royal Birkdale에서 그 모멘텀을 이어갔다. 한 두 샷의 실수로 우승을 놓친 경험들이 있었지만, 이제 그는 The Open 최종 라운드를 앞두고 리더의 위치에 있다.
07Original (English) — PGA TOUR
It's lonely at the top for Jackson Suber at Royal Birkdale, as he leads the field by a stroke at The Open after opening with a 5-under 65.
Making just his third career start in a major, Suber carded six birdies to go along with an eagle on No. 17 to make an unexpected move to the top of the yellow leaderboards in England, leading by one shot over Sungjae Im and Dan Brown in the year's final major.
"Things just really started going after the birdie on 10," Suber said. "I just felt like the momentum was really in my favor. Just kind of kept the ball in good spots and didn't put much pressure on my game to make pars."
Suber may not be a household name, but the second-year TOUR player's overall game has quietly been trending toward a breakthrough in the second half of the season.
Who is the surprise early leader in golf's oldest major? Here are five things to know about Suber.
This is not just Suber's first time playing links golf, but his first trip to Europe in general. He only played 27 holes of preparation ahead of the opening round, first setting foot on links turf on Monday.
"I think I watched a YouTube video on every hole at Birkdale on Friday last week or Thursday, but besides that, yeah, I just have a stats guy that's helped me just knowing that the pot bunkers are no good and stay out of those," Suber said.
As an iron specialist, Royal Birkdale played to the Tampa native's strengths Thursday, encouraging Suber to flight long irons. The course is playing significantly firmer, too, which is an ideal chipping surface for Suber.
"Feeling comfortable with that I think is important for me," Suber said.
The 26-year-old punched his first ticket to The Open with a T4 at the RBC Canadian Open, part of the Open Qualifying Series.
The top three finishers at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley not already exempt to play Royal Birkdale this year qualified. Since second-place Matt Fitzpatrick and third-place Viktor Hovland were already exempt for The Open, Suber was one of the next eligible players to earn a spot (along with winner Bud Cauley and Jesper Svensson) for the final major of the year.
Suber has made just two prior appearances in majors. He finished 73rd at the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst and missed the cut last month at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.
Suber played his collegiate career at Ole Miss, where he finished No. 9 in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2022 rankings and earned PGA TOUR Canada membership. He spent one season on the PGA TOUR Canada before competing on the Korn Ferry Tour.
In 2023, Suber came up just short of meeting the top-30 threshold for a PGA TOUR card at the season's conclusion. The former Rebel seemed in a good position to earn a card for much of the Korn Ferry season, and ultimately falling short proved a significant blow to his psyche.
"It's like the slow-motion car wreck," Jonathan Randolph, former PGA TOUR pro and Suber's mentor, said of how Suber finished 2023. "I'm sure he wouldn't describe it as such, but when you have everything that you've worked for right in front of you and it's kind of like sand slipping through your fingers, it's a tough thing to handle physically, emotionally. And to be able to take something good from it and learn from it, clearly he did, because he came back and did everything he could to get the job done."
Suber came back with a renewed vigor in 2024, notching 10 top-25 finishes on the Korn Ferry Tour, four of which landed him in the top five. He ultimately finished in the top 20 of the 2024 points list, earning him a PGA TOUR card for the 2025 season.
Suber finished No. 117 in the FedExCup standings last year, giving him conditional TOUR status for the 2026 season.
Suber's confidence lies with his irons. He currently ranks in the top five on TOUR in numerous approach categories, whether he's in or out of the rough. He sits at 20th amongst all TOUR players in Strokes Gained: Approach, which helps him sit in the top third of Strokes Gained: Total.
Recently, Suber has made multiple changes that have helped him grow other areas of his game, most notably in terms of equipment. He put the new Titleist GTS3 driver in his bag, a switch made more notable by the fact that Suber is not prone to changing gear.
"It's just a lot more consistent with the mis-hits I feel like," Suber said. "Like a toe ball, it just hangs in the air better and doesn't really dive as much offline and kind of holds its spin. I feel like that's been helping me a lot, especially [since] I feel like I have a left miss tendency, so just knowing that that toe ball is going to hold its line more and carry farther is always good."
Suber's statistics year-to-year on the TOUR back it up. He went from losing strokes off the tee as a rookie to gaining them, while also increasing his longest drive by 16 yards. He was clinical Thursday with his irons, ranking third in the field in SG: Approach, but his recent uptick off the tee means he'll take a more well-rounded game into the final 54 holes in Southport.
Seeing Suber atop the leaderboard may shock some, but he has consistently been in contention over the past two months. Suber entered 2026 with conditional status, yet has since qualified for the U.S. Open and The Open while collecting four top-25 finishes since May, including three top 10s. It's more impressive when considering just a handful of costly shots down the stretch have stood in the way of Suber potentially securing his first PGA TOUR win.
At his last start at the John Deere Classic, Suber vaulted 33 spots with a second-round 65 to take the lead on Friday while sinking over 100 feet of putts. It led to a T6 finish, his third top-6 finish in his last six starts dating back to THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson in May.
Suber has shown flashes of being a rising name to know on TOUR. And after his opening round at The Open, he'll have a chance to make that promise permanent if he can carry that momentum into the weekend.
