TROON, Scotland — Shane Lowry has been here before.
Daniel Brown is not like that.
After the first round of the 152nd British Open at Royal Troon, Brown shot a bogey-free 6-under 65 to lead Lawrie by one stroke.
Lawrie won the British Open at Royal Portrush in 2019 and is exempt from playing in the world’s oldest major championship until he turns 60.
Brown will play in the first major championship of his career this week after sinking a 20-foot putt on the final hole of a 36-hole final qualifying tournament in West Lancashire on July 2.
Lawry, 37, is ranked 33rd in the world.
Brown, 29, is currently ranked 272nd but previously rose as high as 2,903rd before winning the 2023 ISPS HANDA World Invitational, his first DP World Tour event.
The Irishman will be looking to prove he’s no one-hit wonder at the British Open.
British player Brown is looking to prove he belongs on the world stage.
“It’s incredible, right?” Brown said, acknowledging his unlikely story. “I was nervous off the first tee, obviously it’s my first major, so my legs were a little bit weak, but after that I settled in. I hit some good shots early on and then I settled into the round pretty quickly.
“I was playing well leading up to this tournament so my scores don’t really reflect that,” Brown added, caddied by his brother Ben, “but with this being my first major I think I was calmer and more comfortable than usual.”
“I know there are still 54 holes to go. I’ve still got a long way to go.”
Justin Thomas shot a 3-under 68 to take the lead after an early tee time.
He is followed at two under by Alex Noren, Justin Rose, Russell Henley, Xander Schauffele, Mackenzie Hughes, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Joe Dean and Nicolai Hoygard.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Adam Scott, Brooks Koepka, Matt Wallace, Chris Kirk and Sepp Straka are all one under par.
Apart from some fantastic scores, the greatest feature of the day was that the best players in the world were completely stumped by the headwinds at Troon, which were the opposite of the prevailing winds they had been practising all week for.
That resulted in a number of inflated scores, including Rory McIlroy’s seven-over 78 and Bryson DeChambeau’s five-over 76, as well as Tommy Fleetwood and Max Homa (76).
Wyndham Clark and Rickie Fowler each shot 78. Cam Smith, the 2022 Open champion, shot 80.
“It’s a very difficult course,” Jon Rahm said after shooting 73. “Eight of the first nine holes. [wind] You hit it from the right and you play a long, difficult hole that you think might be a little easier on the downwind side, but it’s not. The back nine is very difficult, the par 3s are very difficult.
“There’s no easy golf course. We all suffered the same way.”
Brown and Lawrie received a big welcome on their way to the 18th hole, but it felt more like a weekend cheer for the leaders than a Thursday one.
After the round, he tried to remind himself, and anyone who would listen, that no matter how well he played, it was still only Thursday.
“I’m very happy but it’s only one day,” Lawrie said. “I’ve got three more days. I’ve got a lot more to work on and I just kept telling myself I’ve got a few more days, so I just kept pacing myself and hitting some good shots. I’m pretty happy with how I played.”
“Walking the 18th hole was actually pretty fun – it’s the best walk in golf, and I got to do it in front of a packed crowd on a Sunday afternoon,” he said. [at Portrush]”And that’s my plan… to try to achieve it again. I’m fully aware that I have work to do in the next three days. I’ll do whatever it takes to win this tournament again. I’ll do whatever it takes to have a chance to win this tournament again. That’s why I’m here this week.”
“This is obviously a great start to making that happen.”
