Dan Brown writes an epic chapter in The Open Championship’s history as debutant leads at Royal Troon

Dan Brown acknowledges the crowd after holing his birdie putt on the 18th hole at Royal Troon.

Three weeks ago, Dan Brown hadn’t booked his place in the field at the 152^nd British Open Championship. Now, the 29-year-old Englishman leads on his Major debut after a stunning opening 65 at Royal Troon.

“I used to hate links golf,” Brown laughed as I spoke to him immediately after the round. “As an amateur, obviously you play it all the time, and you get a little bit fed up of hitting good shots and ending up in pot bunkers sometimes, which is the way it is. But I’ve found since I’ve not really been playing too much links golf, that I’ve enjoyed it more. I’ve enjoyed the challenge more and the wind more and the firm conditions.”

It’s easier to like it when you’ve enjoyed the sort of recent experiences Brown has.

The Northallerton native secured his spot in the year’s final men’s Major at Final Qualifying, holing a 20-foot putt to avoid a play-off and come through the mammoth 36-hole event at West Lancashire on July 2.

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“You don’t realize how big it’s going to be. I went into the West Lancs knowing that I was in the PGA Tour event in America in Lake Tahoe. So it was kind of a win-win for me. I would get to play on the PGA Tour or play here.” America would have been warmer, but who will remember the leader of the first round of the Barracuda Championship?

His brother, Ben, had played in the same qualifying event, without the same success, but he was at close hand on Thursday, carrying out caddie duties in front of their wider family. And with the light fading, his services were called upon heavily.

“It was really dark, I’ve seen a few clips on the TV, and it’s way darker than what it shows on the telly,” Brown said.

“He (Ben) knows AimPoint. I was struggling on the last few holes to see the slopes and stuff on the green. So it was hard to read putts, so I was putting my trust in him for the last two or three.”

Brown, who turned pro in 2017, hadn’t blipped many radars ahead of his debut having endured a tough season on the DP World Tour. He missed seven weeks after the Porsche Singapore Classic with a knee injury and, barring a T4 at the SDC Championship in South Africa in March, he’s been struggling for form. He’s missed the cut in seven of his 14 events, including six of his last eight. He withdrew in another of those tournaments before finally getting a weekend under his belt at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open at Renaissance Club where he finished 61^st, firing rounds of 65-69-67-74.

Still, he’s shown his capabilities before, winning the English Amateur Championship at Ganton in 2016 and picking up two wins in a fortnight on the Evolve Pro Tour in February 2018 – Lo Romero and La Serena Open.

But the World No.272’s biggest moment before today came at the 2023 ISPS Handa World Invitational in Northern Ireland, where he sparkled in a wire-to-wire victory, finishing five shots ahead of Alex Fitzpatrick.

“I haven’t really got going since, but there’s no player in the world who doesn’t go through a spell where they’re struggling,” said Brown.

If ever there was a time to get going, it was today. Brown was part of game 52 – the second-to-last game on a wet and wild day on Scotland’s south-west coast. Playing in The Open is the dream for any British golfer, but finding out you’re in the ‘graveyard’ groups, definitely isn’t. With his brother Ben on the bag, he hit his opening tee shot at 4.16 pm and, despite the long wait, there were no nerves. At least, none that were visible.

Brown was playing on the now-defunct PGA EuroPro Tour as recently as 2021. He’d reached the final stage of the European Tour Qualifying School in his debut season, before playing a a limited schedule on the Challenge Tour in 2018, making just two cuts in 13 events.

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In 2021, he tied for second in the EuroPro’s season-ending event to finish fourth in the Order of Merit and earn a return to the Challenge Tour. The following year he was runner-up at the Hopps Open de Provence and finished the season 30^th in the rankings before coming third at the European Tour Qualifying School to claim a DP World Tour card for 2023. In 28 events he missed just four cuts and withdrew once. As well as his maiden win, he enjoyed four other Top 10s and a further four Top 20s. His form was enough to secure him a spot at the DP World Tour Championships, where he finished 45^th and secured a top-50 finish in the Race to Dubai.

It’s been a far tougher 2024 so far, but Brown defied the odds on Thursday. He produced a blemish-free, two-under 34 on the front nine – a nine that had destroyed many more experienced players’ dreams throughout the morning. Surely the pressure would kick in around the turn. No. Birdie at the par-4 10^th and 11^th to lead the Championship at four-under. 2019 Open Champion Shane Lowry then birdied his final hole in front of a roaring crowd to take top spot as Brown secured another par on the 13^th in front of a handful of spectators as light started to fade and the refuse trucks were arriving to clear the site.

As Lowry came to the media center to discuss his round and hopes of lifting a second Claret Jug, Brown would’ve become aware of the television crews suddenly descending on his closing holes. Still, he didn’t falter.

“I was looking at leaderboards, but I wasn’t really thinking too much about where I was. I just kind of wanted to try and catch Shane if I could,” he said.

A comfortable par at 14 was followed by a confidently holed six-footer for par on 15. Then came the moment – he split the fairway at the par-5 16^th before pushing his fairway wood into the rough on the right, only to produce a superb up-and-down for birdie and a share of the lead. He grazed the hole at the long par-3 17^th with a 20-foot birdie putt that would have given him the lead on his own, before heading to the final tee, knowing a par would be enough to sleep on the lead.

He found the fairway and as he made his way down 18, there was a ripple of applause barely louder than the one he’d received when he’d teed off five hours earlier. By then the crowds had headed across the course to follow some of the bigger names. By the time he reached the last the majority had headed home. Just Brown’s family and around 100 diehard fans remained. When those who left watch the highlights they may wish they’d chosen to follow Brown rather than those big names. He was 14 shots better than his childhood hero Tiger Woods, 13 shots better than Rory McIlroy, five better than World No.1 and 2024’s dominant player Scottie Scheffler… need I go on. Only Ireland’s Shane Lowry, the 2019 Open Champion, could prevent Brown from standing ahead of the other 156 players who teed it up across this long, long day. But, amidst the glow of the big screens, as the light disappeared, the debutant went one better, putting his approach from 167 yards to eight feet before holing his sixth birdie of the day to claim the outright lead for himself.

The Englishman holed a remarkable 150.2 feet of putts across the day to lead the stats. He hit 12 of 14 fairways (T1), 13 of 18 greens (T2), and was 1st in Strokes Gained Off The Tee. With those numbers, it would be easy to get carried away, but Brown remained surprisingly grounded and told us he wouldn’t be taking any pictures with the leaderboard.

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“I know there’s still 54 holes left. There’s a long way to go. I don’t think I’ll struggle to sleep tonight after that late finish.

“I’ll be back down probably about half-seven in the morning and get physio. I feel a little bit of a niggle in my back, so get that sorted and just go through the normal routine.”

Brown is off at 11.04am on Friday and he can expect a far bigger following than he experienced on day one.

“I always kind of knew the Friday was going to be busier due to the time of day. It might be a little bit busier than what it maybe was going to be,” he laughed. “But, no, it will be nice. It will be nice to have a proper Open, Major Championship experience tomorrow.”

Like his author namesake, Brown has written an epic opening chapter. He’s solved the first part of the Da Vinci Troon code. If he continues to unlock the secret over the next three days, he could be responsible for one of The Open’s greatest-ever stories.

About the Author

Rob Jerram – Digital Editor

Rob specializes in the DP World Tour, PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and the Ryder Cup, spending large chunks of his days reading about, writing about, and watching the tours each month.

He’s passionate about the equipment used by professional golfers and is also a font of knowledge regarding golf balls, rangefinders, golf trolleys, and golf bags, testing thousands down the years.

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