Open underway this time

One year on from being first reserve, Mark Brown has started in the Open Championship and shot a very respectable 1-over par 71. It was one of those rare days of late that the score could have been a lot better. Luck was not with Brown’s putter, though he has shown clear improvement in this area. After a shaky start saw him in a pot bunker on the left of the fairway on the left, he made bogey and it looked like it could be a long day when he found the left hand rough on the third for another bogey. However, it seemed to settle him down and he created birdie chance after chance, converting on the par five seventh and lipping out on twelve. He stayed patient and made birdies on 15 and 17 before a bogey blip on the last. Brown is encouraged by his improved ball striking and his stats showed he hit 11 of 15 fairways. He will tee off tomorrow at 3:04pm (2:04am NZT). Click here for full scores.