As Daniel Brown battles the elements and his fellow Open competitors Sunday afternoon at Royal Troon, don’t be surprised if the 29-year-old Englishman rips a dart or two.
“I suppose it could be a coping mechanism,” said Brown, who says he usually only gives into his bad habit of smoking cigarettes when he’s on the golf course.
He’s just trying to be discreet about it.
“I was trying to sneak,” Brown added. “I mean, my mom and dad are here. There’s a lot of people watching. I don’t know how people are going to take it. Obviously, I’m sure a lot of people know. [My parents] do know, but I don’t do it in front of them, or I don’t want to do it in front of them, so I try and hide it.”
Television cameras, though, have made that difficult, as multiple times on Saturday the broadcast showed Brown huddled under his umbrella, lighting up a heater amid the wet and windy conditions. His final smoke of the round came as he played the difficult par-4 finishing hole; he took a few puffs, posed for a quick photo with fans and then trudged to size up an impossible lie in a fairway bunker, which led to a closing double bogey.
Leader of the Open playing 18! pic.twitter.com/QIiNFWATCP
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) July 20, 2024
Yet even with a 3-over finish over his last two holes to fall from the solo lead, Brown still finds himself in contention entering Sunday’s final round, which he’ll begin at 3 under, a shot off the lead, and paired with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.