Inside The Ropes: I walked the course with Dan Brown, the surprising leader at the British Open

I followed Dan Brown, the unexpected first round leader of The British Open

I headed out on round two of the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon with Dan Brown to understand more about his golf game. Here’s what I learned after watching him for 18 holes…

Daniel (Dan, as I now know he prefers to be called) Brown unexpectedly found himself at the top of the leaderboard in the 152nd British Open at Royal Troon after a stunning bogey-free six-under-par, 65, in the first round.

Armed with an inside-the-ropes media pass, I scanned the Friday groups to see who I could watch at close quarters and settled on the Englishman’s group. Given he was leading the British Open when he teed off at 11.04am local time and my eagerness to learn more about his golf game and how he conducts himself on the golf course, he stood out over the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Tiger Woods, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, and many more household names.

I watched his opening tee shot with anticipation. Would the nerves have kicked in? Had reality dawned that his name was atop the big yellow leaderboards to his left. I wanted to know if he’d begin his second round in the same way he finished his first (and I don’t mean the fading light). A drive straight down the middle was a strong sign of things to come and a good indicator of his mindset as the leader on his major debut.

The first three holes were a mixed bag. But, standing on the 4th tee, I genuinely couldn’t tell if he was three-under, level, or three-over. He seemed such a calm character and was controlling his emotions like a man playing in his 100th Major, not his first.

Take the 1st for instance. After he’d smashed a drive down the middle he found the greenside bunker with his second shot. He got up and down from the sand, holing a little knee-knocker for par. On the 2nd hole, he pulled his tee shot with an iron into the long grass, but he found the green in regulation and a comfortable putt had him walking off (conservatively) with par.

Another pulled iron shot off the tee at the 3rd put him in a fairway bunker, where he was forced to take his medicine and splash back out to the short stuff. There was no discussion, no stress, he just rocked up to his ball in the bunker and accepted his fate without emotion Playing his third shot from the middle of the fairway, and needed a long up-and-down to stay one back of Shane Lowry with the Irishman having taken the lead. He produced a shot and putt that Lowry himself would have been proud of.

He hadn’t played his best golf (or the golf we’d seen on Thursday, at least), but he was showing his grit to remain level par for the day. His first dropped shot of the tournament came at the par-5 4th hole (imagine taking 22 holes to make your first bogey in a Major in these tough conditions). Brown tugged his second shot with a fairway wood into the thick grass on the left and, thanks to a spectator’s sharp eyes, he escaped a penalty drop and made a decent six. Even when the ball was heading towards the long stuff, with his Open hopes potentially disappearing, he looked cool and calm.

Play was a little slow out there today. I was out for five hours and it felt like I’d been through a wind tunnel 100 times when I got back to the media center. The first sign of the pace was on the 5th tee, but Brown chose his club as soon as he arrived on the tee box and never changed his plan throughout his wait. The wind was howling off the sea and considerably stronger than anything he encountered yesterday.

Brown’s caddie is his brother, Ben and he’d said after his first round “I like having him on the bag. He’s good at reading greens, and he’s obviously a good golfer himself. So he can give good advice.” But as I walked to the back of the 6th green I watched Brown and his brother and realized that I hadn’t seen him call on his bag man for much assistance – or perhaps they just understand each other so well that the communication can be limited.

Brown’s putting had been excellent on Thursday when he led the stats for footage holed, but it went a little colder on Friday, especially on birdie looks. He missed a 12-footer on the 7th and I couldn’t help but feel that he’d have holed it yesterday. Having said that, he’d produced a couple of composed clutch putts for par early in the round and I think his stroke will stand up to the pressure, which is only going to grow when he heads out in the final group on Saturday.

Brown’s performance at the treacherous par-3 Postage Stamp was first class. He got through it with ease, making a simple two-putt par that never looked in doubt. The par-4 9th hole is among the more difficult holes on the golf course, playing over par on both days. Unfortunately Brown aided that stat with a bogey, but he didn’t look flustered.

On the short walk to the 10th tee, I had to consult the leaderboard, just to confirm that Brown had dropped two shots on the day. Honestly, that man has ice in his veins. He showed it again as he started the journey back down the course, immediately bouncing back from the bogey with his first birdie of the day. Did he celebrate? No. He picked his ball out of the hole, acknowledged the excitable crowd, and walked towards the next tee.

For anyone who hasn’t seen the golf course or been watching the coverage, the par-4 11th is very daunting. You have to carry gorse bushes and hit a fairway you can’t see, there’s a train track all the way down the right, and, on Friday there was a 25mph wind to judge – it’s a beast. What you don’t want, is to be held on the tee for 10 minutes, which is exactly what happened to Brown.

He must’ve read my mind. Seconds before he was called up to hit his tee shot I heard him say to someone in the crowd: “It’s not really the tee box you want to be stood on for a while.”

I was worried he’d jinxed himself. But it appears nothing phases Dan Brown. Just as he pulled the trigger a gust of wind appeared from nowhere and a train hurtled past at breakneck speed. The result? Fairway found, of course. I was immediately convinced that he’s got what it takes to take the weekend in his stride. He made a solid par and two more followed at the par-4 12th and 13th. The 8th-13th is a tough stretch of the course and he made it look easy, walking off the 13th green having played it in level par. He even took some time at the 14th tee to chat with a group of his friends. Would that break his focus? He stood on the par 3’s tee two shots back from Lowry. When he saw he was behind on Thursday he said he’d decided to chase the Irishman down, but on Friday his strategy was perfect.

“I was trying to rein myself in a little bit after yesterday’s score,” he said after his second round. “Going out there with it being a lot windier, knowing that 72, 73, or 74 actually wasn’t too bad,” said Brown.

The fact that he went out more than happy to shoot over par tells you a hell of a lot about Dan Brown. He’s here to play and he’s here to compete, but most importantly, he’s here to play his own game and I believe he’s got the game to lift the Claret Jug on Sunday.

A run of 4s from the 15th-18th saw him home but, even when he closed the gap on Lowry with a birdie at the par-5 16th and handed it back at the par-3 17th, he remained a picture of calm. As he walked down the 18th and took the applause of the packed grandstands, he allowed himself a brief smile – presumably chuckling inside at the difference a few hours can make. As he finished off on Thursday, he was applauded by around 100 fans, a good chunk of which were his own family.

And he’s gained himself some new fans, including one young spectator who got himself a special gift on the 12th. After holing a knee-knocker for par he scanned the crowd and handed his ball to a young boy whose smile was as big as the one we’ll see on the winner’s face come Sunday.

Having spent the last 24 hours learning Brown’s story, following his journey, and getting first-hand experience of his nature, I’m hoping that face is the 29-year-old Englishman’s.

About the author

James Hogg – Golf Equipment Writer

James has a degree in English Language from Newcastle University and an MA in Journalism from Kingston University.

He spent seven years working for American Golf as part of the sales and fitting team alongside his studies and is a specialist in putters, golf balls, and apparel.

James took up golf as a teenager and, thanks largely to his length and consistency off the tee, he plays off a handicap of 4.7 at Cleveland Golf Club.

You can contact James via email for loads more golf equipment insight.