The Open: Yorkshire's Dan Brown and John Parry look to steal headlines on major return
‘Doing a Dan Brown’ will be all the rage at Portrush on the opening day of the 153rd Open Championship.
Away from the McIlroys and Schefflers, Fleetwoods and MacIntryes of the golfing world, where padding major resumes or making that elusive breakthrough is the target, for dozens the ambition will be merely to make a name for themselves.
And day one of an Open is the opportune time to do it.
Twelve months ago it was 29-year-old debutant Dan Brown of Northallerton who did just that, thrusting himself into the spotlight with a bogey-free opening round of 65 that took him into sole leadership of the year’s final major come the close on Thursday night.
That he was able to stick around pretty much all weekend at Royal Troon, leading midway through the third round and then playing alongside world No 1 Scottie Scheffler on the Sunday, was great testament to his growing belief that he belonged in that arena.
Securing a top-10 finish also earned him a return to the Open at Portrush this week, where for the now 30-year-old North Yorkshireman, it will be a case of trying to rekindle those positive vibes of a year ago, while the huge swathe of DP World Tour players and regional qualifiers will look to his example as something to try and emulate as they tee it up on the Causeway Coast.
“The only weird thing for me was watching my brother (Brown’s caddy for the week) just walk and talk with Scottie,” Brown remembers of the week.
“You stand back and just think, ‘Yeah this is pretty cool’.
“I’ve always been there for him, and now he’s walking down the fairway chatting with the best player in the world. That was definitely a pinch-me moment.
“I probably never thought I was good enough to do what I’ve done.
“To have a top ten in a major and to have won on the DP World Tour, I don’t even think I dreamt about it.”
It may have taken him almost an entire year but he has now won for a second time on the global circuit, an emotional win in Germany at the BMW International Open less than a fortnight ago.
It means he returns to an Open played at a course he won at as an amateur in 2014, in good shape to capture a few headlines again.
He will also have a secondary aim this week of snaffling as many ranking points on offer as possible. Brown currently sits 15th on the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai money list, with the top-10 not already exempt earning a playing card on the PGA Tour in America for next season.
Eight places above him in the rankings is another Yorkshireman hoping to make the most of his second shot at an Open.
Harrogate’s John Parry returns to the Open three years after his debut, which when it finally came at the age of 35 three years ago at St Andrews, felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As it turns out it was all part of a career renaissance, one that saw him win three times on the Challenge Tour last season to earn a promotion back to the DP World Tour. And he has certainly made the most of this second chance in the twilight of his career, winning in Mauritius in December and backing it up with multiple top-five finishes which has put him seventh on the order of merit, a ticket to the PGA Tour firmly in his grasp.
A little further up golf’s food chain, Portrush is the last shot at major glory in 2025 for some of the game’s heavyweights.
Rory McIlroy wants a second memorable major moment to go with his rollercoaster Masters triumph, this time in front of a partisan home support.
Scheffler wants a third different major and first victory outside the US, Xander Schauffele seeks a successful defence, while Spain and LIV’s Jon Rahm is the favourite among a number of punters.
For Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Tyrell Hatton and Sheffield’s Matt Fitzpatrick, ending England’s 33-year wait for an Open winner is the challenge and the burden.