THE 154TH OPEN

July 16, 2026

Daniel Brown

Mixed Zone

Q. Dan, how would you reflect on today?

DANIEL BROWN: Yeah, very nice day. Tee to green, it's similar to how I've been playing recently. But today a few putts dropped, which was nice to see because I've not seen that for a while.

Q. Any particular highlights?

DANIEL BROWN: I would probably say the up-and-down on 17. Hit a great second shot in there, which actually was unfortunate. I think it must have got a couple of bad bounces into the long stuff and it was quite a cute little chip, so that was nice to get up-and-down and get to 4-under.

Then hit a good tee shot down 18, which sort of left a bit of breathing room.

Q. How did you see the course being set up? It seems a fair challenge.

DANIEL BROWN: It is. I think it's just a fair golf course. There's not too many humps and undulations in the fairway, so if you hit a good shot, generally it stays in the fairway, which I like.

I think the wind kind of hasn't really picked up. I thought after a few holes I thought it was going to get stronger and stronger, but it just kind of stayed the same for the majority of the day. Whether it picks up again this afternoon, I'm not sure. You've still got to play good golf even though the wind is obviously laying down a little bit right now.

Q. You've done what you can do, and you're in good position.

DANIEL BROWN: Yeah, yeah. Obviously it's only Thursday, but hopefully I'm in a sort of similar area on the leaderboard come Sunday.

Q. What can you take from what you experienced and learnt from Troon two years ago?

DANIEL BROWN: I think the fact that -- basically just the fact that I feel like I can compete in a major and in an Open Championship. I feel like I'm a better player now to what I was back then two years ago. So we'll see.

Q. Bob MacIntyre was just in here talking about how he's very conscious on each hole of which side is the dangerous side. Same way for you?

DANIEL BROWN: Yeah, you're obviously looking at where the pins are, whether it's left or right, but generally if the pin is on the left you don't want to be missing left, and obviously vice versa. The sides of the greens are pretty penal if you miss them side to side. Generally if you miss at the front, you're always kind of looking up the green a little bit. Shorter is actually probably better around here if you are going to miss.

Q. I believe you're partial to a cigarette when you're out on the fairway. Given the conditions and the moment, has anybody said to you, are you still allowed to have a smoke when I'm out there?

DANIEL BROWN: I've been told otherwise, but I've been making sure that they're out.

Q. So you're still managing to have a smoke?

DANIEL BROWN: Yeah. Hopefully for the rest of the week. There might be a big dropoff by Sunday if I'm not allowed.

Q. How many have you had today?

DANIEL BROWN: I probably -- sorry, mom. I'm probably on like seven or eight a round, I would say.

Q. Helps with the nerves, does it?

DANIEL BROWN: Stress levels go up, then probably the more I end up having.

Q. Did you ever come to the Open as a kid?

DANIEL BROWN: My dad actually used to smoke, and I always told him when I was a kid to stop smoking and then he did stop and then I ended up starting.

Q. What are the tattoos here? They look like birds --

DANIEL BROWN: I've got like three little birds. Don't ask the reason for them.

Q. Was it late at night --

DANIEL BROWN: That kind of doesn't really --

Q. They look cool. I was going to ask the reason.

DANIEL BROWN: They were kind of just for a look, I suppose.

Q. When did you get them?

DANIEL BROWN: Do you know, I've got about 10 tattoos now. They're all quite small ones, but the first one I got was probably only three years ago, so I've gone a bit mad really, but I don't really want any more.

Q. It's a lot hotter coming in than when you started this morning. Even wearing long sleeves, I guess it was cooler this morning --

DANIEL BROWN: Yeah, it was a bold move that. I wasn't expecting it to get that warm until sort of the latter end of the round. But yeah, I felt all right. I'm used to being -- obviously we play all over and chase the sun, so I'm used to being a bit warmer.

Q. Do you find you're hitting a lot more irons this week? Is the course taking driver out of your hand?

DANIEL BROWN: Yeah, it's a big mixture off the tee. You've got -- I think I hit 6-iron off the 5th tee, and then obviously it's ranging all the way up into driver, and I've got mini-driver in the bag this week rather than 3-wood, which I just think is a little bit better in the wind and a little bit better off the tee.

Yeah, it's a really good mixture. I don't think I hit my first driver until the 8th today.

Q. Is it pretty clear each hole that you want to do or are there holes where it's really dependent on wind?

DANIEL BROWN: It's a really good golf course because you can aggressive if you want to be, but then obviously that brings in a little bit of trouble. So it just depends what you feel is worth a risk and what's not. But I think my game kind of will stay pretty similar all week in terms of just trying to play a little short of certain traps. Some of the holes where the fairway widens out a little bit, so then you can sort of take on one of the bunkers and then stay sort of another one.

Yeah, but there won't be anyone hitting driver everywhere, I don't think.

Q. What's your earliest memory of The Open?

DANIEL BROWN: Do you know what, I think this was the first Open I ever came to as a kid; was it 2008? I think this was the first ever Open I came to was here when I was a kid. I would have been 13, 14.

Q. Do you remember watching anyone in particular?

DANIEL BROWN: I can't remember this one too well. Then I think I went 2012 at Lytham and then 2013 at Muirfield, I think. I went to those so I can remember a little bit more of those ones and followed Tiger, which you do, lads my age.

Q. What was your best shot of the day?

DANIEL BROWN: Best shot of the day? Do you know, I think actually the best shot I hit today ended up leading to a bogey because I missed a six-footer, but I hit it long -- 13, I hit it long left, just pulled it, kind of smothered it a little bit, went long left into the rough and it was like a 30-, 35-yard chip shot back down the green into long rough and hit it to five, six feet. That was probably the best shot, I would say, of today. Then unfortunately I lipped out there, so unfortunately it didn't lead to a par.