How Open star got John Daly’s seal of approval

What do John Daly, Ben Stokes and Jeremy Kyle have in common?

They’re all fully fledged members of the new Dan Brown fan club.

The underdog from Yorkshire won hearts and minds with his unlikely top-ten finish in last month’s Open at Royal Troon. Brown, a one-time DP World Tour winner, was the unlikely name that just wouldn’t go away from the top of the leaderboard during a brutal week on the Ayrshire coast.

He finally slipped out of contention in Sunday’s final round, but left Troon with a top-ten finish in his first ever major and a career-high £248,000 cheque, as well as a ticket to next year’s renewal at Royal Portrush.

Stokes – the England Test cricket captain – and Kyle – the broadcaster most famous for hosting his eponymous show – were among the thousands who joined the Brown bandwagon on social media after his whirlwind week.

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The former Open champ Daly, meanwhile, gave his own seal of approval having spotted Brown smoking during his rounds. The viral videos captured just as much attention as his stellar play on the links.

“Someone came to me in the Players Lounge at the Open and said they spoke to John Daly and he called me a bit of a legend because I smoke,” Brown recalls.

Let’s be clear, though – this is no John Daly when it comes to sparking up on the course. Brown won’t smoke around his parents “out of respect” and the habit is not something he’s particularly proud of, either.

“I’ve always tried to keep that quiet but I got caught a couple of times at the Open on camera and a lot of people were watching,” he tells bunkered during his first outing since Troon, in the tranquil setting of the Farmfoods British par-3 Championship.

“I’ve played on it a bit because people probably see me as being quite normal and not your usual professional athlete. It seems weird to me to call myself a professional athlete. A lot of people have taken a liking to it but I’m probably going to go back to hiding it.

“I’ve smoked since I was 20-years-old. It’s never been a massive problem. It’s only just been a golf course thing. When I get home I’ll never have one. It’s even surprising to me that I haven’t become properly addicted. It looks that way on a golf course because I’ll probably have a few.”

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The sight of pros puffing away on a cigarette in between shots seemed a thing of the past until earlier this summer, when Charley Hull caused her own viral moment at the US Women’s Open.

Hull, who has diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) last year, has since suggested that smoking helps her relax on the course. There is no other reason at play for Brown, however, who says “three or four” of his colleagues also smoke while out on the DP World Tour.

“It’s more just a habit,” he explains. “If I wanted to quit I could quite easily quit. It’s an enjoyable thing for me to do when I’m on the course. If there’s ever a delay on the tee box I’ll always have one.”

Brown made it into the Open through Final Qualifying at West Lancashire, but now reveals that he only entered that 36-hole Merseyside marathon because his brother Ben was competing too. Ben has now taken over Brown’s bag for the foreseeable and the brothers have become a formidable duo.

“I was close to not doing Open qualifying,” Brown admits, rather understatedly. “I only did it because my brother was playing. Just because we had a busy run in the schedule. It was four or five weeks in a row.

“Glad I went now.”

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.