Highlights

British Open 2024: Daniel Brown nearly drills Dean Burmester with drive, still makes birdie from wrong hole

By Alex Myers

July 20, 2024

Daniel Brown contending at the Open Championship this week has led to plenty of "Da Vinci Code" jokes, but he came up with a wild plot for his seventh hole on Saturday that not even the famed author could have come up with.

Brown opted for driver off the short par 4 and sent one way right. So far right that his golf ball landed on the "Postage Stamp" eighth hole and nearly hit Dean Burmester, who was playing the par 3 ahead. Take a look:

Phew. We hope he yelled FORE! Regardless, luckily, no damage was done—either to Burmester's body or Brown's golf ball. As you can see, it ended up in the fringe behind the green.

And from there—after apologizing to Burmester and waiting for the next group to tee off on No. 8—the surprising British Open challenger hit a fantastic recovery shot from 102 yards to near tap-in range to set up one of the more unlikely birdies we've seen this week.

Electric stuff from the 29-year-old Brit. Although moments later, Brown gave that shot back after finding the Coffin Bunker at No. 8, prompting more jokes about how he was able to hit that tiny green with a driver, but not a wedge when he was actually playing the hole. In any event, the Dan Brown Show—ripping darts and all—continues. And we're enjoying every minute of it.

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Is it the British Open or the Open Championship? The name of the final men’s major of the golf season is a subject of continued discussion. The event’s official name, as explained in this op-ed by former R&A chairman Ian Pattinson, is the Open Championship. But since many United States golf fans continue to refer to it as the British Open, and search news around the event accordingly, Golf Digest continues to utilize both names in its coverage.