Brown leads English Open charge as Suber tops board
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- Dan Brown shot a 4-under 66 at Royal Birkdale to sit one behind leader Jackson Suber, leading a strong English showing in the opening round of the 154th Open.
- Jackson Suber, a 26-year-old American who had never been to Europe before this week and played his first-ever links holes at Birkdale, leads at 5-under.
- No English golfer has won The Open in 34 years (Sir Nick Faldo at Muirfield, 1992), and the last English winner on English soil was Tony Jacklin at Royal Lytham in 1969.
- Six other Englishmen — Jordan Smith, Matt Wallace, Laurie Canter, Alex Fitzpatrick, Matthew Southgate and Tyrrell Hatton — also broke par, in what the source calls a 'strong showing from the home contingent.'
- Matt Fitzpatrick, a pre-tournament favourite, finished 2-over in the tougher evening conditions, while Rory McIlroy carded a 72 after a late birdie, leaving both seven shots off the lead.
- Tommy Fleetwood, the Southport local, opened with a 1-under 69 after carding a 6-over 76 in the first round when Birkdale last hosted the Open in 2017.
Why it matters: Seven English players breaking par on day one is the deepest home-nation showing in decades, giving the Birkdale crowd a genuine contender in Dan Brown to rally behind — but with a 34-year drought since the last English Open winner, Brown must sustain his position across three more rounds against a leader who has never played links golf before this week.
