Who is Daniel Brown? Meet the English rookie enjoying a dream Major debut at The Open just months after battling to come back from knee injury

At the start of the 152nd edition of the Open Championship, golfer Dan Brown had a very small fan base, many of whom did not know the English golfer.

However, by the end of the first day at Royal Troon, he had quickly become a fan favourite thanks to his stunning first-round performance on Thursday, when he shot a six-under-par 65 in the penultimate group of the day to take a one-stroke lead into Friday’s session.

The Englishman has not slowed down since then and now even has a chance to lift one of the most coveted prizes in golf heading into the final day, just one score behind leader Billy Horschel.

His impressive performance in Scotland came as a surprise to everyone, as he only made his first cut in almost four months at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open. Before that, his last cut was in South Africa in March at the Jonsson Workwear Open.

Not only is his achievement a surprise, having not made the DP Tour Cut since March, but in his Major debut he also became the first player in men’s Major history to record a bogey-free score of 65 or lower in his first career Major. That is simply unthinkable and remarkable.

Who is Daniel Brown?

He may share the same name as a famous author, but this week the golfer proved that he actually does have that name and that people need to know about it.

Brown is a 29-year-old golfer who was ranked 272 in the Official World Golf Ranking ahead of The Open at Royal Troon.

When did Dan Brown make his Major debut?

The Englishman made his first Major appearance this week at Royal Troon for the 152nd edition of the Open Championships, also known as the British Open.

The golfer, who was relatively unknown until this weekend, managed to qualify through the 16 places that the Open makes available via 36 holes of Final Qualifying at four locations in the United Kingdom.

He earned his place in the Open in tense conditions in West Lancashire with a 20-foot birdie on his final hole to finish two strokes ahead of previous Tour winners Sergio Garcia and Carlos Ortiz and avoid a play-off with Ben Schmidt.

Who is his Caddy?

It’s a family affair… Dan Brown’s caddy for this week at Royal Troon and also for his last few DP World Tour events has been his brother Ben.

Ben is also a competitive golfer, playing competitive golf at a high level. His most impressive victory to date was winning the 2022 U18 Fairhaven Trophy outside Blackpool, England.

Dan talked about their relationship and how Ben is his caddy. He said it’s great having his little brother on the green because he helps him dig deep and find that little bit extra.

“I had a hard time seeing the slopes and stuff on the green on the last few holes,” said Daniel Brown.

‘It was difficult to read putts, but luckily he knows AimPoint, so I trusted him the last two or three holes.

“I like having him on the bag. He’s good at reading greens and he’s obviously a good golfer himself. So he can give good advice. It’s nice to share my first major with him on the bag.”

Health history

Perhaps the reason we’ve only seen Brown shine on the DP Tour late this year is that the 29-year-old recently overcame a cyst on his knee, which he revealed in March of this year.

To grow up

The recent golfing sensation grew up in the North Yorkshire region of England, with his birthplace of Northallerton just 50 miles north of Leeds.

Brown developed his love for the game at his local course, Bedale Golf Club.

The course opened in 1894 and is only 6,600 yards long. The course was built on a former deer park.

Appear on stage

Brown earned his spot on the DP World Tour after completing Qualifying School in November 2022, cementing his position on the tour the following season.

Brown, now 29, enjoyed a successful debut season in which he won the ISPS Handa World Invitational and qualified for the DP World Tour Championship, the season-ending championship.