[PHOTO: Tom Shaw/R&A]

If you predicted Daniel Brown would be the outright leader after the first round of the Open Championship at Royal Troon, well congratulations are in order. You either have amazing foresight or you’re a friend/family member of the 29-year-old Englishman who had to wait until 4:16pm – the second-last threesome – to begin the first round of his first career major start, only to shoot a bogey-free 65 to outpace Shane Lowry by one shot.

To conceive that the DP World Tour pro would be the 18-hole pacesetter would have been particularly challenging considering his recent form. In his past eight starts, Brown, 273rd in the latest world ranking, had missed six cuts, withdrew from a seventh event and managed a 61st-place showing a week ago at the Genesis Scottish Open. And yet, here he is, a longshot who jumped to the outright lead after birdies on the 16th and 18th holes (his fifth and sixth of the day) and acknowledged afterwards that he had exceeded his own expectations.

“Yeah, obviously it did. Very much so,” Brown said. “I was watching The Open before I went out this morning on TV in the house, and you’re kind of looking at how tough it is. There’s only a few guys at one-under, two-under, and you obviously know it’s going to be tough. Thankfully, the wind died a little bit for our back nine, so it got a bit more scoreable, I think.”

So just who is Daniel Brown? Here are seven things you should know about The Open leader.

1. Brown is the first player in men’s major championship history to shoot a bogey-free 65 or lower in his first career major round.

Just think about that for a second. Of the thousands of golfers to have teed it up in a major, no one, not Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer or Tiger Woods, has been able to do what Brown accomplished overnight, Australian time. It’s kind of humbling when you think about it.

2. Brown got into the field at Troon two weeks ago, earning a place in Final Qualifying at West Lancashire.

With rounds of 71-68, he won the qualifier by a shot, drastically altering his plans for the rest of the month.

“I went into the West Lancs knowing that I was in the PGA Tour event in America in Lake Tahoe,” Brown said. “So it was kind of a win-win for me. I would get to play on the PGA Tour or play here.

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3. Brown is not without some pro success, having claimed won on the DP World Tour at the ISPS Handa World Invitational last August.

It was a wire-to-wire victory for Brown, who ran away with the title by five shots over Alex Fitzpatrick at Galgorm Castle in Northern Ireland.

4. Brown didn’t turn pro until he was 23, making the jump in 2017.

While winning the Dutch Junior in 2015 and the English Amateur in 2016, Brown spent four years playing amateur golf because he didn’t think his game was good enough to turn pro. He then jumped back and forth between the Challenge Tour and the PGA EuroPro Tour until finishing third at DP World Tour Qualifying School in November 2022, to earn a card for the 2023 season.

5. Brown hasn’t always been a fan of links golf.

“As an amateur, obviously you play it all the time, and you get a little bit fed up of hitting good shots and ended up in pot bunkers sometimes, which is the way it is. But I’ve found, since I’ve not really been playing too much links golf, that I’ve enjoyed it more. I’ve enjoyed the challenge more and the wind more and the firm conditions.”

6. Brown got to enjoy the special day with his brother beside him as his caddie.

Ben Brown is a golfer too, having played himself in Final Qualifying at West Lancashire. He came in particularly handy during the first round as the cloud cover and setting sun created tricky playing conditions at the finish.

“I was struggling on them last few holes to sort of like see the slopes and stuff on the green. So it was hard to read putts, but thankfully he knows AimPoint, so I was kind of putting my trust in him for the last sort of like two or three holes.”

7. Brown made a point after the first round that he didn’t want to make too big a deal of his accomplishment.

Yeah, it’s his first career major start, but Brown is here to win, not just have a magical first round. And to treat things differently simply because of a low score would potentially set himself up for a letdown later in the week. It’s why he says he didn’t want to take a picture of the leaderboard after his play.

“I’m sure some people will get them, but not me,” Brown said. I’m going to try and sort of keep my feet on the ground a bit and take on the job again tomorrow.”

The job of Open leader… that sounds pretty good.

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