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Brown ‘making sure’ cigarettes stubbed out at Open
England's Dan Brown says he is taking extra care to stub out his mid-round cigarettes at the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, given the parched, dry conditions of the course after prolonged hot weather in Merseyside. His caution comes amid a spate of serious wildfires across the UK in recent weeks, prompting organisers to ask all players, staff and spectators to dispose of cigarettes safely, though smoking itself has not been banned at the event.
Brown, the 31-year-old who led after round one at the 2024 Open at Troon, said he smoked "seven or eight" cigarettes during his opening round at Birkdale, admitting he turns to the habit when his "stress levels go up" on the course. Despite this, he shot a four-under 66 to share the joint clubhouse lead among morning starters with South Korea's Im Sung-jae, before American Jackson Suber moved ahead on five under in windier afternoon conditions. Wildfires have recently forced emergency responses in areas including north Wales, Derbyshire, Hampshire and Devon, and other golfers known for smoking on course include John Daly, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Charley Hull.
In short
- Dan Brown extra cautious with cigarette disposal at Royal Birkdale amid wildfire risk
- Shot four-under 66, sharing early clubhouse lead with Im Sung-jae
- American Jackson Suber later took the outright lead on five under
Explained simply
The Open Championship is professional golf's most prestigious tournament taking place at Royal Birkdale in Merseyside. The course is unusually dry following prolonged hot weather, creating fire hazard conditions similar to those responsible for serious wildfires across the UK in recent weeks.
Organisers have asked all players, spectators and staff to dispose of cigarettes safely during the tournament, though smoking has not been banned. This precaution follows emergency responses to wildfires in areas including north Wales, Derbyshire, Hampshire and Devon.
Dan Brown is a 31-year-old English golfer competing at Birkdale. Some professional golfers are known to smoke during tournaments, and the combination of dry course conditions with players' smoking habits has made fire safety a particular concern.