Tag: Daniel Brown

The Open 2024: Who is Daniel Brown? 5 things to know about the Englishman atop leaderboard

Daniel Brown has become an overnight celebrity after the first two rounds of his major tournament debut

The top of the leaderboard at The Open at Royal Troon features plenty of familiar names — and one that may look a bit strange even to the most avid golf fans.

Daniel Brown (no, not The Da Vinci Code author) finished his second round on Friday at 5-under par and solidly in second place behind Shane Lowry.

While stars like Tiger Woods, Wyndham Clark and Cameron Smith missed the cut at the final major of the year, Brown seems to have found his footing on the windy and wet links course.

So who is the weekend contender for the 152nd Open Championship? Here are five things to know.

1. He’s a 29-year-old from Northallerton, England

Heading into The Open, Brown ranked No. 272 in the Official World Golf Ranking, so it’s really alright to admit you had never heard of him before The Open. Most golf fans hadn’t been given a reason to know him.

2. Dan Brown is playing in his first major tournament

Which is also the second reason many had never heard of him before. Brown is making his major debut in the United Kingdom’s biggest golf tournament and he made it through Thursday with a bogey-free round to hold the outright lead at 6-under.

But it’s not the first time Brown has been to The Open. As teenager, Brown got to attend The Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes in 2012 as Ernie Els won his second Claret Jug. If Brown was excited then, imagine how he feels now.

3. Brown only qualified for The Open three weeks ago

Maybe that’s helped him stay loose and not overthink things. Only 16 spots were available in a 36-hole final qualifying event for The Open and it took Brown sinking a 20-foot birdie putt on the 36th hole to secure his spot. After facing that type of pressure, playing The Open may feel less daunting.

But the story gets a bit more wild when you look at Brown’s recent form. In his last eight starts on the DP World Tour, the Englishman has made the cut just once — that was at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open.

4. Daniel Brown’s brother is caddying for him at The Open

Ben Brown, Daniel’s younger brother, also tried to qualify for The Open but missed out on a spot in the field. He’s still walking the course inside the ropes anyways thanks to his Daniel, who has been relying on him plenty this week.

“I like having him on the bag,” Brown said. “He’s good at reading greens, and he’s obviously a good golfer himself. So he can give good advice. To share sort of my first major with him on the bag is nice.”

5. Brown could become the third golfer to win a major debut in the last 100 years

That’s how improbable these first two days have been at Royal Troon.

Only Keegan Bradley (2011 PGA Championship) and Ben Curtis (2003 Open Championship) have won their major debut, but a win by Brown this week may be even more improbable.

Bradley already had nine Top 25 finishes (including a win) earlier in the PGA Tour season before claiming his major victory. Curtis, meanwhile, was a 300-1 underdog at The Open in 2003. Brown entered The Open at more than double that length at 750-1 at BetMGM.

Who is Daniel Brown? 5 things to know about the Englishman near the top of The Open leaderboard

Daniel Brown finished his second round on Friday at 5-under par.

The top of the leaderboard at The Open at Royal Troon features plenty of familiar names — and one that may look a bit strange even to the most avid golf fans.

Daniel Brown (no, not The Da Vinci Code author) finished his second round on Friday at 5-under par and solidly in second place behind Shane Lowry.

While stars like Tiger Woods, Wyndham Clark and Cameron Smith missed the cut at the final major of the year, Brown seems to have found his footing on the windy and wet links course.

So who is the weekend contender for the 152nd Open Championship? Here are five things to know.

British Open: Leaderboard | Photos | How to watch

1. He’s a 29-year-old from Northallerton, England

Heading into The Open, Brown ranked No. 272 in the Official World Golf Ranking, so it’s really alright to admit you had never heard of him before The Open. Most golf fans hadn’t been given a reason to know him.

2. Dan Brown is playing in his first major tournament

Which is also the second reason many had never heard of him before. Brown is making his major debut in the United Kingdom’s biggest golf tournament and he made it through Thursday with a bogey-free round to hold the outright lead at 6-under.

But it’s not the first time Brown has been to The Open. As a teenager, Brown got to attend The Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes in 2012 as Ernie Els won his second Claret Jug. If Brown was excited then, imagine how he feels now.

3. Brown only qualified for The Open three weeks ago

Maybe that’s helped him stay loose and not overthink things. Only 16 spots were available in a 36-hole final qualifying event for The Open and it took Brown sinking a 20-foot birdie putt on the 36th hole to secure his spot. After facing that type of pressure, playing The Open may feel less daunting.

But the story gets a bit more wild when you look at Brown’s recent form. In his last eight starts on the DP World Tour, the Englishman has made the cut just once — that was at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open.

4. Daniel Brown’s brother is caddying for him at The Open

Ben Brown, Daniel’s younger brother, also tried to qualify for The Open but missed out on a spot in the field. He’s still walking the course inside the ropes anyway thanks to his Daniel, who has been relying on him plenty this week.

“I like having him on the bag,” Brown said. “He’s good at reading greens, and he’s obviously a good golfer himself. So he can give good advice. To share sort of my first major with him on the bag is nice.”

5. Brown could become the third golfer to win a major debut in the last 100 years

That’s how improbable these first two days have been at Royal Troon.

Only Keegan Bradley (2011 PGA Championship) and Ben Curtis (2003 Open Championship) have won their major debut, but a win by Brown this week maybe even more improbable.

Bradley already had nine Top 25 finishes (including a win) earlier in the PGA Tour season before claiming his major victory. Curtis, meanwhile, was a 300-1 underdog at The Open in 2003. Brown entered The Open at more than double that length at 750-1 at BetMGM.

Alexa Pano earns first LPGA win on 19th birthday at ISPS Handa World Invitational

Both Pano and Brown were first-time winners at the joint women’s and men’s event in Northern Ireland.

Alexa Pano got her first LPGA win for her birthday.

The teenage phenom turned 19 on Sunday and picked up a hard-earned victory at the 2023 ISPS Handa World Invitational at Galgorm Castle Golf club in Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Pano took down both Esther Henseleit and Gabriella Cowley – who all finished regulation at 8 under – in a three-way, three-hole playoff. Henseleit was eliminated first with a bogey on the par-5 18th. Pano and Cowley made par to force a third playing of No. 18, where Pano won with birdie.

“Gosh, this is so surreal. I mean, I still haven’t processed it,” said Pano after the round. “I couldn’t process it on 18 green, but still, kind of sinking in right now. Just so cool.”

MORE: Prize money payouts for the ISPS Handa World Invitational.

“Yeah, definitely was not conservative at all today,” said Pano. “I struggled a little bit off the tee, but other than that I was able to be aggressive. Luckily my putter was hot today, so that was helpful.”

Pano shot a 6-under 66 in the final round and forced a playoff with a pair of birdies on Nos. 17 and 18 after a late bogey on the par-4 16th. The Florida native didn’t know the situation on the leaderboard until someone on No. 17 made a comment.

“He was like, ‘shouldn’t have made bogey there.’ Kind of rude, but it motivated me to make two birdies back-to-back,” said Pano. “And so I did know going into 17, but that’s the only reason why. Those back-to-back birdies I knew I had to do, and luckily I did.”

After she earned her card for the season via LPGA Q-Series, Pano has made just five cuts in her rookie year, with one top-20 finish in addition to her win in 12 starts. She’s the third rookie to win this season and one of eight first-time winners on the season.

“Yeah, that’s pretty cool,” Pano said of the fact that she’s the youngest winner of the season at 19. “Was almost 18 but I guess I’m just better at 19.”

Before skipping college to turn professional, Pano had a decorated junior golf career and was a three-time Drive, Chip and Putt national finalist and the youngest player in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She also featured in the 2012 Netflix documentary, The Short Game.

Daniel Brown wins mens title at ISPS

The ISPS Handa World Invitational is a unique event on the schedule as it features two competitions being held at the same time with 144 women and 144 men playing for $1.5 million in prize money.

On the men’s side, Daniel Brown ran away with a five-shot victory to claim his first victory in just his 20th start. Brown had just three top-10 starts entering the week, with a best finish of T-5 in March at the South African Open.

“It feels amazing. I could never have dreamed this up in the past however many years and months,” said Brown. “(My mom was) blubbering down the phone. I’m over the moon, but it probably hasn’t sunk in yet. I don’t know. I almost still feel like someone’s going to crop up and say there’s another day left or something. Crazy.”

Brown took the lead on Thursday with a 6-under 64 and cruised to victory in the final round with a 1-under 69. Alex Fitzpatrick (68) finished second at 10 under, with Eddie Pepperell (68) in third at 7 under.

Unique event not on future schedule

This event, which showcases LPGA, LET and DP World Tour players, is not on the 2024 DP World Tour schedule, which was released last week.

Organizers told BBC Sport there are plans for another big event in the region, but the mixed format – in which male and female players compete for the same size purse – will not be extended.

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Former Chiefs TE Daniel Brown reunites with Jets after release

The #Chiefs traded with the #Jets to acquire Daniel Brown and ultimately released him. Now he’s back with the #Jets on their practice squad. | from @TheJohnDillon

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When the Kansas City Chiefs traded veteran guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif for tight end Daniel Brown, the move reeked of financial trickery. Brown is a seventh-year player with limited offensive experience but showed a lot of upside as a special teamer with the New York Jets in recent seasons.

He never played a single snap for Kansas City and was effectively useless to the team beyond his utility in creating cap space after they traded for defensive lineman Melvin Ingram at the deadline. Fans were wary of the mid-season swap for Brown, as Duvernay-Tardif was a well-loved member of the Super Bowl championship team in 2019, and a league icon for his title as a medical doctor.

But Duvernay-Tardif was unlikely to fit into the Chiefs’ plans either and wanted to see playing time somewhere else if he couldn’t find the field in Kansas City. After opting out of the 2020 season to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in his native Canada, In April he re-structured the five-year $41.2 million contract he signed in 2017, which enabled the team to shop him when his spot on the roster became unnecessary.

Brett Veach and the front office went all-in on rebuilding the offensive line in the offseason, and Duvernay-Tardif was one of the players on the outside looking in when Kansas City signed Joe Thuney and drafted Trey Smith. There simply weren’t snaps for him to see any action when the line came together after the preseason, and Duvernay-Tardif ended up voiding the no-trade clause on his contract to enable the Chiefs to move him to the Jets.

Kansas City officially waived Brown on the 20th of November, effectively completing their mission to provide themselves cap relief after the flurry of trades they made at the deadline. With Brown’s new contract in New York on the books, the Jets have regained their lost asset and added a valuable lineman who is sure to be a fan-favorite for Gang Green to close out their season.

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Jersey numbers for Chiefs trade acquisitions revealed

Here are the jersey numbers for new #Chiefs DE Melvin Ingram and TE Daniel Brown:

The Kansas City Chiefs have a pair of new players on the team, and with the first practice of the week on Wednesday, both players have been assigned jersey numbers by the team.

Melvin Ingram wore No. 54 for nine seasons with the San Diego and Los Angeles Chargers. He won’t be wearing that number in Kansas City because it’s currently occupied by stud rookie Nick Bolton. He wore No. 8 with the Steelers most recently, taking full advantage of the NFL’s new jersey number rules. He’ll dip back into that well again with the Chiefs, wearing No. 24 with Kansas City.

Typically, the No. 24 has been worn by some great defensive backs for the Chiefs like Gary Green, Brandon Flowers, Ty Law and even Darrelle Revis. Ingram will technically be listed as a linebacker in Kansas City, even though he appears on the depth chart as a defensive end. Linebackers are one of the positions allowed to wear Nos. 20-49 under the new jersey numbers rules this season.

Daniel Brown wore No. 87 with the New York Jets most recently. He wore No. 10 as a receiver back in college with James Madison. Obviously, he won’t be wearing either of those numbers in Kansas City. He opted to go with No. 89, a number famously worn by Chiefs legend Otis Taylor and last worn by WR Maurice Ffrench.

Several reporters spotted Ingram out at practice wearing the No. 24 jersey, but it appears as if Brown has yet to join his new team.

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4 things to know about new Chiefs TE Daniel Brown

The #Chiefs have a new tight end on the roster after a trade with the #Jets. Here are four things to know about Daniel Brown:

Right at Tuesday’s trade deadline, the Kansas City Chiefs made a surprising move to acquire Jets tight end Daniel Brown for veteran guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. The acquisition came just after their trade with the Steelers for pass-rush specialist Melvin Ingram earlier in the day.

A season-ending injury to Jody Fortson against Washington in Week 6 necessitated that the Chiefs make a move for a replacement at the deadline, but Brown is far from a household name most fans might recognize immediately. Here are four things to know about Kansas City’s latest addition to their offensive arsenal:

Jets acquire Chiefs RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif for TE Daniel Brown

New York is acquiring RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif from the Chiefs in exchange for TE Daniel Brown,

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Joe Douglas is adding some offensive line depth before the trade deadline.

New York is acquiring RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif from the Chiefs in exchange for TE Daniel Brown, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Duvernay-Tardif has not played since 2019 but has started 57 out of 60 career games dating back to 2015.

Duvernay-Tardif opted out of the 2020 season to work as a doctor battling COVID-19 on the frontlines of the pandemic in Canada. The 30-year-old Quebec native was the first NFL player to opt-out.

A Super Bowl champion with the Chiefs, Duvernay-Tardif allowed three sacks, two quarterback hits and 22 hurries in 2019, his last year as a starter.

Brown has been with the Jets since 2019. Primarily a blocker and special teamer, he has yet to record any receiving stats through seven games this season.

Duvernay-Tardif and Brown are free agents after the 2021 season.

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Chiefs trade RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif to Jets in exchange for TE Daniel Brown

Another trade for the #Chiefs ahead of the NFL’s trade deadline, this time the team sent Laurent Duvernay-Tardif to the #Jets in exchange for TE Daniel Brown

The Kansas City Chiefs have been active at the NFL’s trade deadline.

After making a move to acquire Melvin Ingram from the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team has made a player-for-player trade as well. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Chiefs are sending former starting RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif to the New York Jets. In return, the Jets are sending TE Daniel Brown to Kansas City.

Developing…

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Zach Wilson needs Jets’ tight ends to be better moving forward

Zach Wilson targeted the Jets’ tight ends a lot in Week 1, but they didn’t offer much help as receivers. Their blocking wasn’t good, either.

Tight end was never a strength for the Jets heading into 2021. Even before New York traded Chris Herndon, the group didn’t look strong. 

After Week 1’s loss to the Panthers, they look even worse.

Not only did the duo of Tyler Kroft and Ryan Griffin fail to positively affect the passing game, but they were also horrible blockers as well. Zach Wilson targeted Kroft and Griffin 11 times combined against Carolina, but they only finished with six receptions for 48 yards. The yardage isn’t terribly concerning considering Kroft’s average depth of target was just 3.2 yards and Griffin’s was only 4.0 yards, but failing to haul in almost half of the targets tanked a few drives for the Jets.

Now, not all of those incomplete passes were the tight ends’ fault. A lot of the mistakes made in the passing game were the direct result of the Jets’ poor offensive line. Wilson went to his tight ends frequently when he was forced out of the pocket with pass-rushers in his face. Those throws were rarely pristine, which led to a lot of the miscues.

Kroft and Griffin were never meant to be important pass-catching pieces of this offense, though. The Jets added several receivers over the offseason so that their tight ends could focus on blocking more. However, Kroft and Griffin were not reliable in that role, either.

Griffin’s 16.5 pass-block Pro Football Focus grade ranked second-worst among qualified tight ends in Week 1, while Kroft’s 24.0 grade finished third-worst. Griffin’s run-block grade wasn’t much better at 43.1, which ranked second-worst.

If the Jets’ offensive line continues to play poorly, they’ll need support from the tight ends. It’s why the Jets used 12 personnel – one running back, two tight ends and two receivers – on 40 percent of their snaps, according to Sharp Football Stats. That ranked third in the league in Week 1 behind the Falcons and Patriots. But New York only had a 42 percent success rate out of that package, partly due to the inefficient play of Kroft and Griffin. 

This may not be the norm for the Jets’ offense moving forward. New York lost Jamison Crowder and Keelan Cole for a week and both figured to play prominent roles in the offense. Their absence forced the Jets to feature Braxton Berrios and rookie Elijah Moore instead. Berrios played well and tied Corey Davis in targets and receptions, but he’s also the Jets’ fourth-string receiver.

Crowder and Cole should return this week, which changes the dynamic of the playcalling and personnel packages. New York lined up in 11 personnel – one running back, three receivers and one tight end – on 50 percent of their offensive snaps, which is below the league average of 57 percent and ranked 21st in the league. Wilson should have a better time passing with more competent catchers at his disposal in Week 2.

The Jets never meant to rely on the tight ends as pass-catchers. It’s likely why they were fine trading Herndon before the season. But New York needs its tight ends to block. That they didn’t in Week 1 is more concerning than their receiving ability because of how necessary good protection is in the wide-zone offensive scheme.

Week 1 could be an anomaly considering how often Kroft and Griffin ran routes, but it’s still not encouraging to see how much they negatively affected the Jets’ offense in the season opener.

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Jets Free Agent Profile: What to do with TE Daniel Brown?

Jets Wire breaks down whether or not New York should re-sign impending free agent and tight end Daniel Brown.

Before Joe Douglas can focus on who he plans on targeting in free agency come March, he’ll have a handful of in-house decisions to make.

The Jets have 25 players set to hit the open market this offseason. Some don’t figure to factor into New York’s plans for 2021, while others it’s safe to assume the Jets would like to keep around for a while. Either way, Douglas has a lot of work to do to put together a competitive roster for Robert Saleh.

Should tight end Daniel Brown be part of the next phase of New York’s rebuild? Let’s evaluate the situation in Jets Wire’s latest free agent profile.