DANIEL BROWN is the surprise leader after the opening round of the Open Championship at Royal Troon. But who is the North Yorkshire golfer who is the surprise name at the top of the leaderboard?


* Daniel Brown, who is better know as Dan, was born in Northallerton in October 1994.


* He is part of a talented golfing family, with his brother, Ben, also a keen golfer. Ben, who played himself in Final Open Qualifying at West Lancashire, is caddying for Dan this week.


* Dan is a member at Romanby Golf Club, near Northallerton, with the course having been a keen supporter of his development. He has also spent a lot of time playing at Bedale Golf Club.

 

* Dan was a talented amateur, competing in the renowned Brabazon Trophy when it was staged in the North-East at Seaton Carew. As an amateur, he won the Dutch Junior Open in 2015 and also claimed the prestigious English Amateur title in 2016 along with the North of England Open Amateur Championship.


* After reaching the final stage of European Tour Qualifying School in 2017, Dan got his first experience as a professional on the Challenger Tour in 2018, making the cut in two of his 13 events.  From 2019 to 2021, he played on the PGA EuroPro Tour, and in 2021, he finished tied for second at the end of the season, earning him a return to the Challenger circuit.


* His big breakthrough came at the end of the 2022 season when he finished third at European Tour Qualifying School, securing him a place on the European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour) for the 2023 season.


* Prior to yesterday, his biggest day in golf came last August when he claimed his maiden European Tour title by winning the ISPS Handa World Invitational in Northern Ireland. He led in all four rounds as he finished five shots clear of the rest of the field.


* Dan had missed the cut in his six tournaments prior to last week’s Scottish Open, but he performed well at North Berwick, following up an opening round of 65 with further rounds of 69, 67 and 74. He eventually finished on five under par, which was good enough for 61st position.


* He had to qualify to make the Open Championship, and he did so in dramatic fashion via Final Qualifying at West Lancashire. He holed a 20-foot birdie putt on the last to avoid a play-off with Ben Schmidt and secure an automatic spot at Royal Troon.