TROON, Scotland — The first round at Royal Troon has humiliated many of the world’s top players, but it unexpectedly tested Englishman Daniel Brown, currently ranked 272nd in the world. The 29-year-old from Northallerton shot a bogey-free 65 to take a one-stroke lead in the British Open.
Brown, playing in his first major championship, let alone his first British Open, led the field in strokes gained off the tee and had an equally strong putting performance. He gained 4.5 strokes on the greens and was second among Royal Troon competitors in strokes gained putting. Brown, playing in his third tournament, PGA TOUR He made the cut at the Scottish Open, but had failed to qualify in six consecutive tournaments prior to that. Athletic According to contributor Justin Ray, Brown is the only player in the past 30 years to start his major career with a bogey-free 65 or lower.
Behind Brown is a player who is well aware of the tough course conditions that presented themselves at Royal Troon on Thursday. Shane Lowry is in sole second place at five under par. Lowry has been a big-stage player in recent years, having won the 2019 British Open at Royal Portrush in his native Ireland. Though he has just two wins on the PGA Tour, he has won at Portrush and has finished in the top 25 in 15 of the past 22 majors.
Lawrie was well positioned all day while many of his contemporaries were buried in thick gorse and deep bunkers, but made no mistake on the greens and led the putting with all 14 putts inside 10 feet. He took the lead with birdies on the seventh, eighth and tenth holes, then settled down with six straight pars before hitting the pin for birdie on the 18th hole.
Lawry struggled to start the 2024 season and credited teammate Rory McIlroy with helping him out at times during his team win at the Zurich Classic. Since that win, Lawry has finished tied for sixth at the PGA Championship, tied for 19th at the U.S. Open and tied for ninth at the Travelers.
Justin Thomas entered the clubhouse leading after the morning round, shooting a tenacious 68 in tough conditions. Thomas has struggled on links courses throughout his career. The two-time major champion’s creative and versatile play seems well suited to this style, but Thomas’ best British Open finish was a tie for 11th in 2019 and his next best finish was a tie for 40th. Thomas has missed the cut three times in seven British Opens, with his worst finish being a start of 82 at Royal Liverpool last year.
But Thomas showed impressive green and hole finishing on Thursday, and he capitalized by ranking in the top 10 in the field in strokes gained approach and making 16 of his 18 putts inside 20 feet.
Even more impressive was how Thomas responded when the course overpowered him. After starting the 10th hole at 4 under par and leading by two strokes, he double-bogeyed the 12th hole and then bogeyed the 13th. Royal Troon had been overpowering the players all day at that point, but Thomas finished his round with birdies on the 17th and 18th holes.
“I feel like everything’s going well and I’ve been working on the right things,” Thomas said. “Like I said, we haven’t had much success. That’s the way it goes in this game. But I know we’re close. I’m just going to keep playing and not look for results, I’m just going to play for my game and it’ll work out.”
Apart from Thomas, Europe performed well at the most international of majors. In addition to strong starts from Lawrie and Brown, Britain’s Justin Rose shot a bogey-free 69, while 23-year-old Danish player Nicolai Hojgaard and Swede Alex Noren also finished at two under par.
Joining them in 69th place were Xander Schauffele, who won the PGA Championship in May, and Russell Henley, who is seeking his first major victory.
But many of the field’s biggest stars seemed to have been eliminated early in the day. The top two players at last month’s U.S. Open, McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau, were 7 over and 5 over, respectively. McIlroy had just one birdie all day, while DeChambeau was 6 over through eight holes and needed an eagle on the 16th hole to get that far.
“It’s a totally different test,” DeChambeau said. “I haven’t practiced, I haven’t played much in the rain, so yeah, it’s a tough test out here. It’s something I’m not used to.”
Tiger Woods, playing in all four majors for the first time since 2019, started the day one under but quickly lost eight strokes over the next nine holes to finish at eight over par, putting him in 140th place. The 48-year-old Woods has never finished higher than 47th in any of the seven majors he has played since suffering serious leg injuries in a car accident in 2021.
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(Photo: Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images)
