06-07-2025
Northallerton golfer Dan Brown secures emotional World Tour victory in Germany
NORTHALLERTON'S Dan Brown showed nerves of steel to secure an emotional two-shot victory at the BMW International Open.
The 30-year-old, who is based at Romanby Golf Club, revealed he lost a close friend last weekend, but he showcased composure of the highest level to card a flawless 66 to hold off compatriot Jordan Smith with a 22-under-par total.
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The pair, who were playing in the final group together, were locked at 20 under when they reached the turn, but a birdie at the 12th from Brown, coupled by successive bogeys from the 13th by his rival, saw the lead stretch to three.
Smith, who is set to contest both the Scottish Open and the Open Championship in the next couple of weeks, produced a brilliant bunker shot to pick up a shot the 15th to cut the gap to two strokes, before both men found the par-five last in two and finish the tournament with a closing birdies.
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Asked what his second DP World Tour victory means to him, Brown said: 'A lot. The first one didn't really sink in, but that one straight away hit me.
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'I lost a friend at home last weekend. I don't know what to say really, but that was for him.
'The last two days I've been thinking about him to try and take my mind off it, obviously try not to get too emotional in the process.
'I'm not too sure what happened today like all day, it was an out-of-body experience. Obviously nerves, and then thinking about the importance of winning a golf tournament.
'It sort of played it down with what happened, I suppose he was there with me and it made it a lot easier.
'This event being such a great event, and then the next two weeks, it's a nice three-week stretch and it's been made a lot nicer.'
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Smith finished as runner-up for the second straight year as he finished on 20 under, while Laurie Canter earned a share of seventh at 15 under.
