After 18 holes of the final major championship of the year, we’ve got a surprise at the top of the leaderboard in Scotland.
Daniel Brown, who entered the week ranked No. 273 in the Official World Golf Rankings, took the overnight lead after his bogey-free 65 on Thursday at Royal Troon. Brown, who overtook Shane Lowry with a late birdie to grab a one-shot lead, is playing in his first ever major championship this week. He’s the highest-ranked golfer to lead a major after the opening round since 2016, too.
Lowry, who also carded a bogey-free 66, is in a great position to make a run by the midway point of the tournament. He picked up his first major championship win at Royal Portrush in 2019. Justin Thomas will start Friday alone in third at 3-under, and a group of seven golfers are tied at 2-under.
After their wild battle in North Carolina, neither Bryson DeChambeau nor Rory McIlroy started their week in Scotland well. DeChambeau opened with a 5-over 76, and McIlroy finished with a 7-over 78. They’re both going to have to make a run on Friday in order to make the cut, something McIlroy hasn’t missed at the British Open since 2019.
Tiger Woods, like he has so many times in recent years, struggled again too. Woods posted an 8-over 79 on Thursday, which is likely to lead to his seventh missed cut or withdrawal in his last 10 major championship starts.
For full tee times for the first two rounds of the tournament, click here.
For the full leaderboard, click here.
The first two rounds of the British Open will be streamed on Peacock and broadcast on the USA Network.
Peacock: 1:30 a.m. – 4 a.m. ET
USA Network: 4 a.m. – 3 p.m. ET
Keep up with Yahoo Sports for full live coverage of the British Open below:
We’re back for the second round of the British Open at Royal Troon, and there’s a relatively unknown golfer leading the pack. Daniel Brown, who entered the week at No. 273 in the OWGR, fired a 6-under 65 to overtake Shane Lowry and grab the solo lead. This is the 29-year-old Englishman’s first ever major championship.
Leaderboard Update:
1. Daniel Brown (-6)
2. Shane Lowry (-5)
3. Justin Thomas (-3)
T4. Xander Schauffele (-2)
T4. Mackenzie Hughes
T4. Alex Noren
T4. Nicolai Hojgaard
T4. Justin Rose
T4. Russell Henley
T4. Joe Dean
Required Reading:
Daniel Brown grabs early lead
Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy struggle early
Tiger Woods looking at missed cut, again
Notable Friday Tee Times
All times ET
3:47 a.m. Phil Mickelson, Joost Luiten, Dustin Johnson
4:14 a.m. Wyndham Clark, Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka
4:25 a.m. Tiger Woods, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay
4:47 a.m. Shane Lowry, Cameron Smith, Matt Fitzpatrick
4:58 a.m. Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young
6:04 a.m. Daniel Brown, Denwit David Boriboonsub, Matthew Dodd-Berry (a)
7:53 a.m. Justin Thomas, Sungjae Im, Matthew Southgate
9:37 a.m. Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre
9:48 a.m. Ludvig Åberg, Bryson DeChambeau, Tom Kim
10:10 a.m. Rory McIlroy, Max Homa, Tyrrell Hatton