- Dan Brown reflected on his first appearance at The Open after finishing 10th
- The Yorkshireman led on Thursday and maintained an improbable charge throughout the match.
- By finishing in the top ten, Brown secured a place in the 2025 Open at Portrush.
Official Dan Brown had mixed emotions after his memorable Open debut ended with the Yorkshireman securing a share of 10th place.
The smoker’s son of a pig farmer went into the final day with an unlikely chance of victory after three outstanding first rounds.
The 29-year-old from Northallerton led the leaderboard after a 65 on Thursday and stayed near the top of the leaderboard on Friday when many thought he would drop off. He then put himself in contention with a superb round on Saturday in atrocious conditions. But he faded on Sunday with a three-over-par 74.
His hopes were dashed after five bogeys on the front nine and he eventually finished at even par, nine strokes behind winner Xander Schauffele.
Brown said: ‘If I had been told this at the start of the week I would obviously have been very happy, but I wanted to do better and get higher up the leaderboard.
Dan Brown finished 10th at The Open after making an improbable comeback at Royal Troon
The 29-year-old has thus booked his place at The Open 2025 at Royal Portrush.
‘At the moment there’s probably a bit more disappointment, but when I reflect on it, I’ll obviously be very pleased, I would have thought.
“But it was just the first nine holes. I didn’t really get it right all week.”
Brown stayed at a house near Troon with some friends over the course of the week and credited them with helping him stay grounded during his time at the tournament.