Daniel Brown continues to be the Cinderella story of the 152nd British Open. On Saturday, he not only put himself in contention for the championship, but he also won the hearts of many fans with a simple yet relatable gesture.
Brown followed the example of fellow English player Charlie Hull by lighting a cigarette as he walked onto the 18th hole, and also took a selfie with a fan on the side of the 18th fairway with the same cigarette in his mouth.
It’s unclear why smoking would make fans go mad, but it does.
Brown shot a double-bogey six on the final hole, dropping him from five under to three under and one stroke off the lead going into Sunday. Still, fans around the world will be rooting for him to win.
The video of Brown smoking went viral online, and fans were delighted. Best response Brown, ranked 272nd in the world, was throwing darts and posing for photos with fans.
Owen, the X-user, sees the situation objectively. Brown is in the third round of the British Open, living life to the fullest and having fun. What fans want most is relatability, and Brown delivers.
Daniel Brown smokes a cigarette and takes selfies with fans.
If that’s not the good life, I don’t know what is, and it was good to see the British Open leader having some fun on Saturday.
— Owen (@Alakazam_428) July 20, 2024
Another user called Brown a big-time player who “walked down the 18th hole and took a dart while leading the Open.” Unfortunately, the 29-year-old Englishman had a terrible break on his tee shot on the 18th hole, his driver coming to rest on the edge of a pot bunker. Still, trailing Billy Horschel by one stroke after 54 holes, Brown looks more like a player who’s played multiple majors than an Open rookie.
Apparently, the cigarettes, selfies, and playing at the Open were enough to win this X-user a fanbase, and we don’t blame him: Brown had played very well over the past three days and had a shot at winning.
After watching the video, another X user, Brendon Deeg, was ready to present Brown with the trophy, which isn’t an unlikely scenario considering Brown is still on the top page of the leaderboard.
Professional golfers are all so stoic and seem almost robotic most of the time, that when any of them do something a “normal person” would do, the fans seem to get excited.
Brown has 18 holes to play in his British Open debut but a short video of him throwing darts will be released on Sunday which will give even more people a reason to root for him.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow us for more golf articles. Follow You can follow us on all major social platforms. You can also follow us on Twitter Follow Her Instagram account is @golf_girl_sl.
