Stanford senior Barclay Brown is riding up the front page of the British Open leaderboard — in a Stanford bucket hat, of course. The Stanford standout made the weekend cut at St. Andrews with ease, holding a score of six-under-par and sitting at a tie for 11th place in the tournament.
Brown is one of just two amateur golfers to under par in the tournament through two rounds, riding a scorching hot four-under-par opening round. The senior’s round one score of 68 strokes was just three off of the course’s amateur record of 65. He followed that up with a two-under-par performance on his second go-around.
Brown’s path to six-under did not come without adversity, though. After recording a bogey on the 14th hole in Round 2, the Stanford-product looked to be in danger of dropping down the leaderboard on a day when the tournament leaders were going low. But in a stretch of resilience, Brown birdied three out of his final four holes to finish the second round with a 2-under 70, seven strokes off of the lead held by Cameron Smith.
Competing in one of golf’s four major tournaments hasn’t fazed the Sheffield, England native, who looks right at home on a traditional links layout. His standout performance is the latest in a run of strong professional performances from current Stanford golfers. Just weeks ago, Stanford junior Michael Thorbjornsen made headlines with a fourth-place finish at the Traveler’s Championship, a PGA tour event.
Brown admitted that he was anxious at first, playing at the event he grew up dreaming about. “I was unbelievably nervous at the start. Once I got through the first couple of holes, it was nice to calm down a little bit and hit some good shots,” said Brown.
While his success on golf’s biggest stage is remarkable for an amateur-status player, it shouldn’t come as a surprise when considering his strong play at the collegiate level. As a member of the Stanford golf team, Brown has a number of accolades under his belt, including a second place finish at the 2022 Pac-12 Golf Championships. He’s also earned first-team and second-team All-Pac-12 status in consecutive years. Still, his performance at The Open thus far is likely the most impressive performance of his young career.