all sorts of darts
British Open 2024: Daniel Brown appears to flick cigarette butt into Royal Troon fescue
Pedro Salado
When you’re at the top of the leaderboard, especially during a major, you’re going to be getting a few more cameras in your face than initially expected. That goes doubly (or quadruply) so for Daniel Brown, who emerged from the depths of the Open field and shot a blistering six under on Thursday.
One of those broadcast zoom-ins during the first round at Royal Troon looks to have captured Brown flicking a cigarette into the fescue, maybe not the best look for a guy who is currently solo second at the final major of the year. Perhaps try an ashtray or even an empty cup next time, Danny boy.
The Brit appears to have been caught red-handed here. Maybe it was the stress of leading his first major in just his third PGA Tour event, but the wind whipping at Royal Troon this week, Brown is lucky his discarded butt didn't ignite.
At the very least, we’d like to believe that the dart was put out first and was picked up soon after. Cigarettes are officially the most littered item in the world at 4.5 trillion individual butts, according to EarthDay.org, and we now have proof that this happens even at the most high-profile of sporting events.
Brown’s second round is now over and the 29-year-old surprise is still right near the top of the leaderboard heading into the weekend. If this is his only real misstep at Troon, he has a hell of a chance to make a boatload of money or perhaps even win the first major he’s ever played. That would call for a celebratory smoke ... in an ashtray, of course.
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