A BAIZE OF GLORY

Brown delights the home fans after revealing he hit low ebb

- BY SHANE MacDERMOTT

LOCAL lad Jordan Brown revealed he hit rock bottom ahead of kicking off the Northern Ireland Open in style.

The former Welsh Open champion, 38, reached an all-time low with his game after a sorry spell on the baize in recent years.

But the inspired home favourite delighted his army of fans with an impressive 4-0 whitewash win over world champion Zhao Xintong on the opening day at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.

“It's been difficult,” admitted Brown after his morale-boosting victory.

“You're trying to get yourself out of a rut, every player's gone through it.

“Things haven't been great on and off the table. Up until last night I was actually dreading going out there but my family picked me up.