Forty male golfers have recorded a 63 in the men’s Majors. Johnny Miller did it when shooting the lights out at this year’s US Open venue, Oakmont, and we’ve enjoyed a steady stream of brilliant rounds in the big four.
There were plenty of close shaves but we had to wait until 2017 and the Saturday of The Open at Royal Birkdale to get our first 62.
It opened the door and now we’ve had a relative flurry of 62s with a further four. We’re still waiting for one at The Masters – Nick Price (1986) and Greg Norman (1996) are the only players to shoot 63 at Augusta National – but the US Open and PGA Championship have both thrown up a couple apiece. One player has even done it twice..
Branden Grace (2017 Open Championship, Royal Birkdale)
The South African began the third round at four over par after opening rounds of 70-74 but then picked up eight shots to finish in a tie for fifth. There were five birdies in a front nine of 29 and three more, all coming in the last five holes, that saw him become the first man to shoot the golden number. He would miss out on the par-5 15th but birdied the next and, with the crowds now joining his group, he found the 17th in two for a two-putt birdie. A straightforward par at the last saw him round in a score that had never previously been recorded.
What Grace said: “I didn’t know what was going on at 18. I promise you. I honestly didn’t. I was just so in the zone of playing, hole after hole. I had no idea that 62 was the lowest ever. The whole day I was just not thinking on the greens, it was like this day was just meant to happen. I got over the putts and was just focusing on the line and the speed and just hit it. I saw Gary Player on the Sunday evening and he came and gave me a big hug and said congrats. He said it doesn’t matter if somebody else shoots a 62, you’ll always be the first.”
Rickie Fowler (2023 US Open, LA Country Club)
We had two 62s on day one here as, first, Fowler went one better than Miller. The American even had a couple of bogeys as he racked up 10 birdies at a course that had never previously hosted the USGA’s showpiece. Starting out at the 10th Fowler mixed up five birdies and those two dropped shots but an eight-foot birdie at the short 6th moved him to seven under. He was then forced to lay up at the par-5 8th but wedged on to 15 feet and made it before two-putting from 60 feet at the par-3 9th. A final-round 75 saw Fowler drop back into a tie for fifth.
What Fowler said: “Got off to a nice start making three on 10 and just never really thought about a score or necessarily what I was trying to do out there. The first few days this week I wasn’t feeling very comfortable swinging and wasn’t making many putts or hitting very good putts, so continue to get work in on the course as well as in the practice area, and finally a couple things clicked a bit on Thursday. Then it was more just go out, trust it, and let things happen. I knew there was birdies to be made out here, but you have to drive it well and get the ball in position first. Did that, and from there just managed our way around really well.”
Xander Schauffele (2023 US Open, LA Country Club)
Schauffele was two groups behind Fowler and he got off to a flying start with a 40-foot birdie putt at the 10th. Three under going out he notched back-to-back birdies at 1 and 2 before rolling in a 60-footer from the fringe at the 5th to reach six under. There would follow a six-footer at the 7th and another at the third of the par 5s and a closing par added up to a 62. He would fail to break 70 in the next three days.
What Schauffele said: “It was close to a dream start, in a way. I hit a lot of really good shots. Rickie was just right in front of me – I saw him marching up the leaderboard – and I was playing really good golf, so I figured ‘why not just chase him?’ The US Open just plays hard and you have to think your way around the property, take your medicine when you can and try to capitalise when you can as well. I played some really good golf and kept making birdies.”
Xander Schauffele (2024 PGA Championship, Valhalla)
Schauffele was at it again on the opening day of a Major and there would be a happy ending to this one as the American broke his duck three days later. This time around it was a par 71 and Schauffele birdied five holes on the front nine, his longest putt being 16 feet, and two putts from 60 feet at the 7th moved him to nine under. He would get up and down at the next and two putts at the 9th – the first time he would have successive pars – gave him a three-shot lead.
What Schauffele said: “It’s a great start to a big tournament. One I’m obviously always going to take. It’s just Thursday. That’s about it. I feel there’s spurts, moments in time where you feel like you can control the ball really well; you’re seeing the greens really well; you’re chipping really well. But over a prolonged period, it’s tough to upkeep high performance. I’d say it’s very close to it if not it.”
Shane Lowry (2024 PGA Championship, Vallhalla)
After starting the Saturday in 29th place, eight shots off the pace, Lowry moved to just two back of leaders Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa. He eventually tied for sixth. The Irishman made a career-high 161 feet of putts – he holed four putts from 10-20 feet and two putts from outside 25 feet and he didn’t miss any of the 12 putts he faced from inside 10 feet – though he would finally miss a 12-footer on the last to break new ground. But it was an alignment change that paved the way for the rocket up the Kentucky leaderboard.
What Lowry said: “I feel like tee-to-green, I’ve been as good as I’ve ever been this year, and then I come out the first two days, it was probably the worst I’ve played in a long time, but my putter kept me going and kept me in the tournament. Then I went to the range with my coach on Friday afternoon and it was just an alignment issue. I was set up too far left and all sorts of bad things happen for me when I do that. Fixed that, and played with a little bit of freedom, and managed to do that score. I’ve sort of felt all season that if I could warm my putter up that I could be dangerous.”
Shane Lowry at Portrush
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