He was an Open Championship lengthy shot. On Saturday, he’s within the remaining pairing

TROON, Scotland — What you wish to know, in fact, is whether or not “this man,”* this Dan Brown, can win this factor, this 152nd British Open, right here at Royal Troon. No, not Da Vinci Code Dan Brown. He’s not within the subject. Dan Brown the English golfer.

Sure, in fact he can.

Todd Hamilton gained this event, on this course, in 2004, beating a lion of the sport, Ernie Els, in a playoff to do it. Earlier than successful golf’s oldest event, Todd Hamilton was a Tour winner however wasn’t precisely a family identify, a minimum of not past the Hamilton dwelling within the small Illinois city of Oquawka.

One 12 months earlier, at Royal St. George’s, one other unheralded son of the Midwest, Ben Curtis from Kent, Ohio, gained the 2003 British Open.

So, what’s to stop Dan Brown, one of the best golfer in Northallerton, in North Yorkshire, from doing the identical? If England has a Midwest — broadly unpretentious, largely rural — it’s North Yorkshire. Dan Brown’s father is within the pig enterprise, in the event you’re on the lookout for a farm contact right here. However the Brown household, per Dan Brown’s caddie-brother, will not be large on the hog, and their mom, a mortgage advisor and the household cook dinner, doesn’t serve a lot of it.

Louis Oosthuizen, winner of the 2010 Open at St. Andrews, grew up on a dairy farm in South Africa, in the event you’re on the lookout for something extra on this odd diversion.

Anyway, Dan Brown, with an excellent weekend right here at Royal Troon, can get his identify on the Claret Jug. And if not, he can play his manner into all method of occasions by which he can change into one thing greater than a tall man with a brief identify.

The 36-hole chief is Shane Lowry of Eire, who’s seven-under par. His two closest chasers are each Englishmen, the veteran Justin Rose and “this man* Daniel Brown,” as Lowry casually referred to him whereas speaking to reporters on Friday. “I’ve by no means performed with him, however clearly he had an amazing day yesterday and appears to be going all proper at this time.”

Sure and sure. Dan Brown had a gap 65, six below and the day’s low rating, and he got here in on Friday with 72. He caught the more severe of the draw. He and Lowry might be within the day’s remaining twosome on Saturday.

Brown watched on TV when Lowry gained the Open in 2019. He loves to observe the Open, and now he’s taking part in one for the primary time. His first time in any main. He was impressed, he stated on Friday, by Lowry’s “grit and willpower, which he all the time appears to have. Hopefully I’ll get to witness that firsthand tomorrow and try to hopefully go toe-to-toe with him.”

Brown is 29 and he gained final 12 months on the DP World Tour. He’s an enormous, sturdy child with a beard and a tan and a laid-back method. He carries a Ping bag loaded with Ping golf equipment, and on the again 9 on Friday, along with his mother and father, he had two different followers with a selected rooting curiosity, Ian Walker, a Troon member and a longtime Ping govt, and John Solheim, the son of Karsten Solheim, who based Ping.

“I feel I’m extra nervous than he’s,” Walker stated. “He’s bought to be residing out a dream right here.”

Brown performed the Thursday-Friday rounds with two different good younger gamers, Denwit Boriboonsub, a 20-year-old professional from Thailand, and Matthew Dodd-Berry, an English novice who performs at LSU. Skilled golf has by no means been this younger, or this world. The Open reveals that as a lot as any event. Then once more, Justin Rose is 43. 

Dan Brown was requested on Friday if he knew the names Ben Curtis and Todd Hamilton. He did.

“Have been they first-time winners?” he stated. “We’ll see, we’ll see. I’m not going to say an excessive amount of.”

Ben Curtis was taking part in in his first main, simply as Brown is, when he gained. Todd Hamilton was a journeyman professional who performed the world with important success when he gained. Ben Curtis has not performed event golf in years. Hamilton performed right here, his fortieth main. He missed the minimize, and his win 20 years in the past right here is his solely top-10 end in a Grand Slam occasion. Golf defies logic, however logic helps.

Brown is nothing if not grounded. When he completed his spherical on Friday he began strolling to the recorder’s trailer, stated aloud, “Oh, the scorers,” made a U-turn and shook arms with the youngsters who adopted his group round on Friday, one with a rake in hand, the opposite carrying an indication with the scores.

“I’m a little bit of a realist,” Brown stated on Friday, in his earthbound manner. “I’m not going to start out getting forward of myself and pondering that, ‘Oh, my God, I’m main the Open, I’m second in The Open,’ or no matter. There are nonetheless 36 holes left. I may need an excellent spherical tomorrow after which I may need a pungent spherical on Sunday. You simply don’t know.”

You simply don’t know.

Sensible.

As for a weekend forecast, we provide this:

We will see.

Michael Bamberger welcomes your feedback at Michael.Bamberger@Golf.com

Michael Bamberger

Golf.com Contributor

Michael Bamberger writes for GOLF Journal and GOLF.com. Earlier than that, he spent practically 23 years as senior author for Sports activities Illustrated. After school, he labored as a newspaper reporter, first for the (Martha’s) Winery Gazette, later for The Philadelphia Inquirer. He has written quite a lot of books about golf and different topics, the newest of which is The Second Lifetime of Tiger Woods. His journal work has been featured in a number of editions of The Finest American Sports activities Writing. He holds a U.S. patent on The E-Membership, a utility golf membership. In 2016, he was given the Donald Ross Award by the American Society of Golf Course Architects, the group’s highest honor.