Dan Brown may share a name with a famous author, but the Englishman is refusing to think about possibly writing his own major story despite an impressive start to The Open.
The world No 272 came through Final Qualifying to secure a major debut at Royal Troon, where he snatched a shock first-round lead with a five-under 66 on Thursday evening before battling tough conditions to post a one-over 72.
Brown heads into the weekend on five under alongside compatriot Justin Rose and within two strokes of halfway leader Shane Lowry, although isn’t putting any additional pressure on himself as he experiences being in major contention for the first time.
Daniel Brown claims he’s aiming to keep his feet on the ground after shooting a six-under-par 65 to lead after the first round
“I’ve always been quite laid back really,” Brown said. “I think I am a bit of a realist as well. I know I’m not going to start getting ahead of myself and thinking ‘oh my god, I’m leading The Open’ or ‘I’m second in The Open’ or whatever.
“There’s still 36 holes left. I might have a good round tomorrow and then I might have a stinky round on Sunday. You just don’t know. I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing, and hopefully that’s good enough going into the weekend as well.”
Highlights from the opening day of The Open at Royal Troon, where Daniel Brown led by one shot over Shane Lowry
Brown graduated through Qualifying School in November 2022 to earn his DP World Tour playing privileges for the following season, where his rookie campaign saw him win the ISPS Handa World Invitational and qualify for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
There was a tied-fourth finish earlier this year at the SDC Championship, where he led heading into the weekend before fading, along with a share of third in December at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open
Highlights of the final round of the ISPS Handa World Invitational, where Dan Brown claimed a breakthrough DP World Tour success
A 61st-place finish at the Genesis Scottish Open last week was his first cut made in four months and the only tournament Brown has played all 72 holes of in his last eight starts, but did give us an indication of what could be to come with an opening 65.
“I wouldn’t say I’ve actually had a change in form,” Brown said. “I think it’s just a case of results really. I had a bit of a knee injury and had a few weeks out and haven’t really gotten going since.
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“It’s more I wasn’t playing poorly. It was more just rustiness really from having six, seven weeks off. So I feel like the results have been coming. I’ve just had to stay patient, and I wasn’t very patient when I came back from injury at all.”
Rose remains in hunt for major glory
Brown is locked on five under with Rose, who birdied two of his last three holes to post a three-under 68 in the worst of Friday’s conditions, with both having the chance to become the first English winner since Sir Nick Faldo in 1992.
Justin Rose, like Dan Brown, came through Final Qualifying to secure his spot at The Open
“That was such a fun way to finish,” Rose said about his final-hole birdie. “Obviously I celebrated, and there was the realisation I didn’t have to hit another shot, could really kind of let my guard down and enjoy the day because it was a really hardworking, good round of golf.
“To finish that way was obviously special with the crowds, being a fairly full grandstand Friday afternoon. It was really good to enjoy that one.”
Justin Rose birdied the final hole at Royal Troon to shoot a three-under 68 in The Open
When asked whether he had any tips for Brown, Rose added: “We’re probably much more aligned than we are different, in the sense of go out there tomorrow, the mentality to do well is going to be to enjoy it.
“To be as free as you can with it, to give yourself the best opportunity to play well, to sort of embrace the fun part of it and the childhood dream part of it. From that point of view, I think it’s pretty similar.”
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