Dan Brown admits he has mixed emotions despite an extraordinary Open debut that saw him surpass all expectations by finishing tenth

Journeyman Dan Brown had mixed emotions after his memorable Open debut ended with the Yorkshireman securing a share of 10th place.

The cigarette-smoking son of a pig farmer went into the final day with a chance of an unlikely victory after an outstanding first three rounds.

The 29-year-old from Northallerton led after shooting 65 on Thursday and stayed near the top of the leaderboard on Friday when many thought he would fall away. He then put himself right in the mix with an extraordinary round on Saturday in atrocious conditions. But he faded on Sunday with a three-over-par 74.

His hopes were effectively dashed after five bogeys on the front nine and he eventually finished on level par, nine strokes behind winner Xander Schauffele.

Brown said: ‘If you would have told me this at the start of the week, obviously I would have been very pleased, but I wanted to do better and be higher up the board.

‘At the minute there’s probably a little bit more disappointment but when I reflect on it, I’ll be obviously very pleased, I would have thought.

‘But it was just the front nine — I didn’t quite get it going all week, really.’

Brown has stayed in a house near Troon with some friends over the course of the week and credited them with helping him keep his feet on the ground during his run in the tournament.