Staff WriterAt the BMW International Open, Dan Brown is proving that consistency isn’t just the hobgoblin of small minds—it’s the calling card of champions.
The 30-year-old Englishman fired a second consecutive seven-under-par 65 on Saturday at Golfclub München Eichenried, giving him a one-shot lead heading into the final round of the prestigious DP World Tour event.
After a composed but clinical performance that featured six birdies, one bogey, and a rousing eagle, Brown finds himself atop the BMW International Open leaderboard at 16-under-par, edging out compatriot Jordan Smith, who carded a tidy 66 of his own to sit one stroke back.
“It wasn’t fireworks all day,” said Brown, “but I stayed patient, and the back nine was a real turning point.”
That would be putting it mildly. Brown, who clinched his maiden DP World Tour win at the 2023 ISPS HANDA World Invitational, turned up the heat on the inward half, carding six under for his final nine holes—closing the door on Smith’s clubhouse lead with a final flourish that included a daring eagle on the drivable 16th.
The round started slowly for Brown, with little action until the par-four 6th, where he tapped in from close range for birdie.
Another birdie followed at the 7th, but a dropped shot at the 8th temporarily halted momentum. Not for long.
A four-foot birdie putt at the 11th reignited his charge. He then flushed a tee shot on the par-three 12th and calmly holed the putt for another gain.
After a smooth birdie at 15, Brown launched a laser onto the green at the short par-four 16th and converted the eagle, bringing the crowd to life—and Smith back into his rear-view mirror. A final birdie at the 18th was the cherry on top.
Smith, who’s been the nearly-man in Munich with finishes of T2, T8 and T3 in his last three starts here, will once again play in Sunday’s final group.
He’s clearly comfortable on Bavarian turf, but will need something special to keep pace with Brown’s surging form.
Hot on their heels is Dutchman Joost Luiten, just two back at 14-under-par after leading for much of the early going on Saturday.
Further down the BMW International Open leaderboard, Englishman Marco Penge—still riding the high from his win at the 2025 Hainan Classic—sits tied fourth at 12-under, alongside Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Japan’s Yuto Katsuragawa, Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan, and American newcomer Davis Bryant.
But make no mistake, Sunday’s spotlight will be firmly fixed on Dan Brown. With his putter purring and confidence flowing, the man from England has given himself every chance of bagging his second DP World Tour title—and perhaps cementing his place among Europe’s most watchable talents.
All that’s left is 18 holes of golf and a field of hungry pursuers. But if Brown keeps swinging like this, the BMW International Open might just have found itself a new champion—and a familiar one at that.
