Daniel Brown smokes a cigarette down the 18th hole during the 3rd round of The Open at Royal Troon. | NBC Sports Screenshot
Fans made Daniel Brown go viral in the third round of The Open as he gave his best Charley Hull impression by smoking a cigarette.
Daniel Brown continues to be the Cinderella story of the 152nd Open Championship. On Saturday, he not only kept himself in contention but stole the hearts of many fans with one simple but relatable act.
Brown channeled his fellow Englishwoman, Charley Hull, and lit a cigarette while walking up the 18th hole. He also stopped by to take a selfie with fans beside the 18th fairway with that same cigarette dangling from his mouth.
Why smoking causes fans to lose their minds is uncertain, but it does.
Brown heads into Sunday one shot off the lead, as he made a double-bogey six on the last hole to drop from five to 3-under for the championship. Despite that, fans around the world will root him on, hoping for him to get the job done.
The video of Brown smoking went viral, and fans absolutely loved it. Let’s look at some of the best reactions to Brown, the 272nd ranked-player in the world, ripping darts and taking pictures with the fans.
X user Owen puts the situation in perspective. Brown is living the good life and enjoying himself during the third round of the Open Championship. Relatability seems to be what the fans want most, and Brown gave it to them.
Daniel Brown smoking a cigarette and taking a selfie with some fans.
If that ain’t the good life, I don’t know what is. Love to see The Open leader having some fun on a Saturday.
— Owen (@Alakazam_428) July 20, 2024
Another user called Brown a baller for “ripping darts on his walk up 18 while leading the Open.” Unfortunately, the 29-year-old Englishman suffered a bad break off the tee on the 18th, as his drive came to rest on the lip of a pot bunker. Despite that, he is one behind Billy Horschel after 54 holes, and Brown does not seem like an Open rookie but someone who has played in majors plenty of times.
Evidently, cigarettes, taking selfies, and playing in the Open are enough to gain fandom from this X user, and we do not fault him for it. Brown has played extremely well the last three days and could win the whole thing.
After seeing the viral video, Brendon Deeg, another X user, was ready to give Brown the trophy, which is not crazy to think about because he is still on the front page of the leaderboard.
Professional golfers are all so stoic and almost seem robotic most of the time. When one of them does something that ‘normal people’ do, fans seem to get excited.
Brown has 18 holes left in his Open Championship debut, and Sunday will see many more people rooting for him after that short clip of him ripping darts.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.
