Yorkshire golf: Dan Brown heads strong White Rose challenge at St Andrews

Masham's Dan Brown opened the St Andrews Links Trophy with a two-under-par 69 (Picture: Chris Stratford).

Meltham’s Jamie Bower and Jonathan Thomson (Rotherham) both shot 70 while Will Whiteoak, of Shipley, and Hull’s Steve Robins carded 72.

Craig Howie (Peebles) and Ireland’s Conor O’Rourke top the leaderboard on 65.

Brown, who has switched clubs from Bedale, was three under at the turn with birdies at holes two, five and eight.

He came home in one over, a birdie at 12 sandwiched by bogeys at 11 and 13.

Bower was three under after just four holes and had a fourth birdie at hole eight, but also bogeys at six and nine.

He looked like joining Brown on 69 until a stumble at his penultimate hole.

Thomson was two under after three only to drop three shots in the space of two holes, the fifth and sixth.

He came back in two under with birdies at 11 and 12.

Whiteoak overhauled a bogey at the first with birdies at seven and eight, but a third birdie of the day at the 12th was accompanied on the back nine by bogeys at holes 10, 15 and 17.

Robins turned in one over, netting birdies at holes three and eight but a bogey at the ninth and a double bogey at the sixth.

He then reeled off nine consecutive pars on the inward nine.

Howie had a faultless six-birdie 65 while O’Rourke included eight birdies in his six-under tally.