TROON, Scotland (AP) — Dan Brown’s mates have been partying this week as the unheralded Englishman dared to challenge for the British Open title.
He might finally join them in a drink Sunday after finishing his debut major tournament in a tie for 10th place at Royal Troon.
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TROON, Scotland (AP) — Dan Brown’s mates have been partying this week as the unheralded Englishman dared to challenge for the British Open title.
Daniel Brown of England plays from a bunker one the first hole during his final round of the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Sunday, July 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Daniel Brown of England plays from a bunker on the fourth hole during his final round of the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Sunday, July 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Daniel Brown of England gestures to the spectators as he walks to the 18th green during his final round of the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Sunday, July 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)
Daniel Brown, right, of England and Scottie Scheffler of the United States walk the second fairway together during their final round of the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Sunday, July 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Daniel Brown of England gestures to the spectators as he walks to the 18th green during his final round of the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Sunday, July 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)
The 29-year-old Brown’s performance also earned him qualification to next year’s Open, at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, and a paycheck of $317,534.
“At the minute it’s probably a little bit more disappointment, but when I reflect on it, I’ll be obviously very pleased,” he said.
Brown was the surprise leader after the opening round and stuck around among the leaders until Sunday, when he shot a 3-over 74 with five bogeys on the front nine. He finished on even par, nine shots behind champion Xander Schauffele.
On Sunday, he was paired with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
“I struggled on the front nine really. The right-to-left wind I couldn’t really get to grips with that, but then felt a lot more comfortable when the wind was off the left on the back nine,” Brown said.
Coming into Troon, Brown failed to make the cut in seven straight tournaments dating to March but clinched his spot at the Open at a qualifying event in West Lancashire this month.
A knee injury had slowed the one-time winner on the European tour.
The top-10 finish to assure qualification for Portrush was on his mind Sunday.
“Obviously, I took myself out of it quite early. So that was playing on my mind a little bit. But still didn’t really affect me in terms of hitting shots and what have you,” he said.
Brown had tried to be discreet smoking cigarettes during his rounds, which he called a bad habit.
What next?
“Might have potentially like a little bit of a holiday for just three or four days and then get back to work," he said. “I’m not sure.”
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Daniel Brown of England reacts on the 18th green during his final round of the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Sunday, July 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)
Daniel Brown of England plays from a bunker one the first hole during his final round of the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Sunday, July 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Daniel Brown of England plays from a bunker on the fourth hole during his final round of the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Sunday, July 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Daniel Brown of England gestures to the spectators as he walks to the 18th green during his final round of the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Sunday, July 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)
Daniel Brown, right, of England and Scottie Scheffler of the United States walk the second fairway together during their final round of the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Sunday, July 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Daniel Brown of England gestures to the spectators as he walks to the 18th green during his final round of the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Troon golf club in Troon, Scotland, Sunday, July 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden is looking to showcase the Indo-Pacific partnership he has nurtured since taking office as he hosts the leaders of Australia, Japan and India in his hometown Saturday with an eye on his legacy as well.
When Biden entered the White House he looked to elevate the so-called Quad, which until then had only met at the foreign minister level, to a leader-level partnership as he tried to pivot U.S. foreign policy away from conflicts in the Middle East and toward threats and opportunities in the Indo-Pacific. This weekend's summit is the fourth in-person and sixth overall gathering of the leaders since 2021.
Biden put a personal touch on the engagement — potentially the last of the group before he leaves office on Jan. 20 — by opening his home in Wilmington, Delaware, to each of the leaders and hosting a joint meeting and formal dinner at the high school he attended more than 60 years ago.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida came for the meetings before their appearances at the U.N. Nations General Assembly in New York next week.
“You guys have heard the president say many times that all politics is personal, all diplomacy is personal,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters as meetings were set to get underway. “And developing personal relationships has been core to his approach to foreign policy as president. So opening his home to the leaders of India, Japan and Australia is a way of him showing, not just saying, but these leaders matter to him.”
On Friday afternoon, Biden welcomed Albanese to his home on a pond in a wooded area several miles west of downtown. On Saturday, he was hosting Kishida and Modi there before convening all the leaders for consultations at Archmere Academy in nearby Claymont.
Sullivan described the vibe of the meeting with Albanese as “two guys — one at the other guy’s home — talking in broad strokes about where they see the state of the world.” He said Biden and Albanese also swapped stories about their political careers.
Reporters and photographers were prohibited from covering Biden’s individual meetings with the leaders, and Biden does not plan a news conference — a question-and-answer appearance that is typical at such international summits.
As part of the summit, the leaders were set to announce new initiatives to bolster maritime security in the region — with enhanced coast guard collaboration through the Pacific and Indian oceans — and improve cooperation on humanitarian response missions. The measures are meant to serve as a counterweight to an increasingly assertive China.
Sullivan said he expected Biden and Modi would discuss Modi's recent visits to Russia and Ukraine as well as economic and security concerns about China. Modi is the most prominent leader from a nation that maintains a neutral position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sullivan said Biden would underscore “that countries like India should step up and support the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity” and that “every country, everywhere, should refrain from supplying inputs to Russia’s war machine.”
The gathering is also an opportunity for Biden and Japan's Kishida to bid each other farewell. The two leaders sat down for their one-on-one conversation on Saturday morning.
Biden and Kishida, who are both stepping away from office amid sliding public support, count the tightening of security and economic ties among the U.S., Japan and South Korea as one of their most significant accomplishments.
The improved relations between Japan and South Korea, two nations with a deep and complicated history that have struggled to stay on speaking terms, have come amid worrying developments in the Pacific, including strides made by North Korea in its nuclear program and increasing Chinese assertiveness in Pacific.
The U.S. and Japan are negotiating through a rare moment of tension in the relationship. Biden, as well as presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, have opposed a $15 billion bid by Japan’s Nippon Steel to take over American-owned U.S. Steel.
Biden administration officials indicated this week that a U.S. government committee's formal assessment of the proposed deal has yet to be submitted to the White House and may not be come until after the Nov. 5 election.
Sullivan pushed back against speculation that the expected timing of the report could suggest suggest Biden is having second thoughts about his opposition to the deal.
The Biden administration promised that the leaders would issue a joint statement containing the strongest ever language on China and North Korea to be agreed upon by the four countries.
The White House said the leaders would also roll out an announcement related to Biden’s Cancer Moonshot Initiative, a long-running passion project of the president and his wife, Jill Biden, aimed at reducing cancer deaths. The Bidens’ son Beau died in 2015 at the age 46 of brain cancer.
As Biden’s time in office draws down, the White House also was celebrating the bipartisan, bicameral formation of a “Quad Caucus” in Congress meant to ensure the longevity of the partnership regardless of the outcome of the November election.
Madhani reported from Washington
On this photo provided by AAP IMAGE, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attends a question time at Parliament House in Canberra, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves towards the crowd as he arrives to address the election rally in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)
President Joe Biden's speaks with football players at Archmere Academy in Claymont, Del., Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, during a walkthrough visit ahead of his meetings with world leaders there on Saturday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
