SOUTHPORT, England (AP) 鈥� Dan Brown is lighting it up again at the .
One of the few smokers in golf, Brown went through 鈥渟even or eight” cigarettes during his 4-under 66 that gave him the clubhouse lead midway through the first round at Royal Birkdale on Thursday.
After weeks of sunshine in this northwest corner of England, the fairways here are baked and parched 鈥� making them a potential fire hazard from discarded cigarettes.
鈥淚鈥檝e been making sure that they鈥檙e out,鈥� the 31-year-old Englishman said reassuringly.
Not that he sounds too proud of a habit that makes him stand out on the circuit, but which he feels is needed to relieve some stress.
鈥淪orry, Mum,鈥� he said with a cheeky smile.
The burly and bearded Brown is an interesting character, not least because of the 10 tattoos on his body 鈥� three of which are of little birds 鈥� and his YouTube channel called 鈥淏eersForeBogeys鈥� which has around 4,000 subscribers.
Brown first came into widespread consciousness in golf in 2024 when, as the world No. 272, he shot a 6-under 65 for the outright first-round at Royal Troon.
His name 鈥� one he shares with the author of 鈥淭he Da Vinci Code鈥� 鈥� was a headline writer鈥檚 dream and his dry humor proved popular, too. Brown was tied for second place heading into the final round at Troon and wound up in a tie for 10th.
That experience taught him he could compete with the best players in the world.
鈥淚 feel like I鈥檓 a better player now to what I was back then, two years ago,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o we鈥檒l see.鈥�
Brown arrived at the Open with no form from his first year on the PGA Tour 鈥� he missed the cut in his last four events 鈥� but has immediately taken to the Birkdale links.
He made seven birdies, including three straight around the turn, after being 1 over after seven holes.
鈥淭oday a few putts dropped, which was nice to see,鈥� Brown said, 鈥渂ecause I鈥檝e not seen that for a while.
“(Hopefully), I鈥檓 in a sort of similar area on the leaderboard come Sunday.”
That might mean continuing to have a smoke during his rounds.
鈥淭here might be a big drop off by Sunday if I鈥檓 not allowed,” he said.
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