Daniel Brown made a surprise appearance at Royal Troon on Thursday afternoon.
The 29-year-old British player, who has never played in a major tournament before, quickly took the lead at the British Open.
Brown shot a bogey-free 65 at Royal Troon in Scotland on Thursday to overtake Shane Lowry and take the lead at the start of the season’s final major championship by one stroke. Brown, who started the week ranked 273rd in the world, is the highest-ranked golfer to lead after the first round of a major championship since Andrew Landry took an early lead at the 2016 U.S. Open.
Brown also remains the only player in the last 30 years to post a bogey-free score of 65 or better in his first major appearance.
“It feels great. Honestly, I couldn’t have written this off, but at the same time, there’s still a long way to go,” Brown said. “Just trying to stay calm and ready for tomorrow.”
For much of the afternoon, Lawry looked like he would be the overnight leader in Scotland. He shot a bogey-free 66, his best opening round in a major championship, and his putting was solid, including sinking a 24-foot putt for par on the 10th hole after missing both the fairway and the green with his approach. He made another deep putt for birdie on the 11th hole, and saved par with a 12-foot putt on the 12th hole.
Then on the 18th hole, Lawrie sank the ball just a few feet from the hole for his fifth and final birdie, putting him back in sole possession of the lead.
He entered the clubhouse in the lead and was immediately reminded of his 2019 British Open victory.
“I know I have a lot of work to do over the next three days,” Lawrie said. “I’d give anything to win this tournament again. … This is obviously a great start to a championship run.”
But while Lawrie stole the spotlight, Brown was quietly working away behind him, drilling consecutive birdies on the turn, including a ridiculously long putt that briefly put Lawrie and him in contention for the lead.
Brown then birdied two of the final three holes of the day to edge out Lawrie for good: His driver shot on the 18th hole was a rare fairway miss for the 29-year-old Brown, narrowly missing the bunker, but then he darted and made an easy birdie putt to end the day’s play.
Brown has only played twice on the PGA Tour, including last week at the Genesis Scottish Open where he made the cut and finished 61st. The Englishman won his first DP World Tour title at the ISPS Handa World Invitational in Northern Ireland last fall. He also won the English Amateur and Dutch Junior Open before turning pro. He has two top-10 finishes on the DP World Tour this season, including the SDC Championship in March.
Like the other big names, Thursday wasn’t a great day. Just look at Tiger Woods. He shot an eight-over 79 and was 11 strokes back from the lead by the time he entered the clubhouse. This was just the latest example of how Woods has struggled on the course in recent years, and this will likely be just the seventh major he’s missed the cut or withdrawn from in his past 10 starts.
Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau also struggled. Both were out of form on Thursday after hard-fought battles at last month’s U.S. Open in North Carolina. DeChambeau started with a five-over 76 and McIlroy a seven-over 78. Those three, along with Rickie Fowler, Will Zalatoris, Max Homa and Viktor Hovland, are facing a shortened week in Scotland.
Justin Thomas shot a 3-under 68 Thursday morning and will enter Friday in sole third place. Seven golfers are tied for fourth at 2-under, including Xander Schauffele and Justin Rose.
It’s still very early days, but Brown is in a position to make history in Scotland this week if he lifts the Claret Jug on Sunday afternoon. But for now, with an early tea time on Friday, he’s just focused on getting an early turnaround in his game to see if he can continue on a roll.
“I think the key is to eat and go to bed as early as possible,” Brown says, “and then wake up tomorrow and do it all again.”