Dan Brown smoked through seven or eight cigarettes and buried seven birdies to shoot 66, grabbing The Open clubhouse lead at Royal Birkdale on Thursday ... Again.
Dan Brown is becoming The Open Championship’s favorite disruptor.
Two years after emerging from nowhere to shake up Royal Troon, the English underdog marched into Royal Birkdale and fired a 4-under 66 Thursday, seizing the clubhouse lead with seven birdies, a hot putter and enough cigarettes to survive a stressful night at the pub.
Brown estimated he smoked seven or eight during his opening round. On Royal Birkdale’s sun-scorched fairways, that might’ve been the only thing hotter than his scorecard.
The 31-year-old didn’t exactly arrive with championship form. Brown had missed four consecutive PGA Tour cuts and spent much of his rookie season searching for the game that made him one of golf’s most entertaining surprises in 2024.
Apparently, links golf flipped the switch again.
Brown stumbled to 1-over through seven holes before his round exploded.
He poured in three consecutive birdies around the turn and eventually finished with seven on the day, climbing to 4-under and putting himself in familiar territory near the top of an Open leaderboard.
This isn’t his first ambush.
Brown entered the 2024 Open Championship ranked No. 272 in the world, then opened with a 6-under 65 to take the outright lead at Royal Troon.
He remained in contention deep into the weekend, entered the final round tied for second and eventually finished tied for 10th.
That run wasn’t supposed to happen. Brown used it as proof that he could trade punches with major champions.
Now he believes he’s better.
His personality certainly hasn’t changed. Brown’s burly frame, thick beard, collection of 10 tattoos and wonderfully named “BeersForeBogeys” YouTube channel make him one of the circuit’s more distinctive characters.
The smoking habit adds another layer, although Brown jokingly apologized to his mother after discussing it.
Brown said the cigarettes help him manage tension during competition. He also insisted he’s extinguishing them carefully because Birkdale’s dry, brown fairways aren’t exactly forgiving places for discarded embers.
His game was far less hazardous Thursday.
Brown’s putter finally rewarded him after weeks of frustration, and his confidence grew with every birdie.
The larger question is whether he can remain there through Sunday rather than simply providing another unforgettable opening act.
Royal Troon showed Brown belongs. Royal Birkdale could offer something bigger.
The Open Championship has its polished superstars, multimillion-dollar machines and familiar major winners. Brown brings cigarettes, bird tattoos, dry humor and absolutely no interest in following the expected script.
Once again, he’s crashed golf’s biggest party—and this time, nobody can call it a fluke.
