The pinnacle of many sports comes at the Olympic Games, whilst in football, players most want to win the World Cup, the Champions League or their own domestic league. Tennis has its four Grand Slam events and in golf, there are of course the four majors.
The Open Championship, the Masters, the US Open and the US PGA Championship are by far the biggest tournaments that the sport offers. They are the events that all players, and all kids playing the game, dream of winning. To win a major any player must beat an uber-elite field of well over 100 golfers, and must perform consistently over four days.
It is widely accepted that a player cannot be considered a true great unless they have won a major. Whilst winning one of the big four does not automatically confer greatness, it is something that relatively few players throughout the long history of the sport have achieved. However, some players have etched their mark on major golf folklore in other ways.
On the 16th of May 2024 US golfer Xander Schauffele opened with an incredible 62 in the first round of the US PGA Championship. It was a course record at Kentucky’s Valhalla and shooting nine under gave the American a three-shot lead that was enough to see him record a wire-to-wire victory and claim his first major championship win.
He won by a single shot when all was said and done, and whilst winning the tournament is a far greater achievement, his opening round also earned him a place in the history books. That 62 was the joint-lowest round ever recorded in a major championship. That’s pretty impressive given that (after the 2024 season) there have been 470 majors contested, dating back to 1860. That’s around 140,000 rounds of golf using some very rudimentary calculations, so Schauffele should be very proud of his 62, even if the Wanamaker Trophy and the cool $3,330,000 he won might just mean a teeny bit more to him.
There are players who have shot lower scores, with various records depending on the level of the event and whether it was in competition or not. The absolute lowest round ever (on a full 18-hole course) is reported to be a 55, with 57 believed to be the lowest in competition and 58 the best in a professional event.
However, when it comes to major (men’s) golf, Schauffele’s 62 sits top of the pile. Let’s take a closer look at his round, and the others who have also managed to shoot that same incredible score at one of the big four.
Shane Lowry – US PGA Championship (18th May 2024)
Irish golfer Shane Lowry is the most recent player to have shot a 62 at a major and, incredibly, it was the second of the tournament, as we have alluded to. His fabulous score came in the third round and saw him shoot up to tied fourth after two steady rounds. He would eventually finish in a tie for sixth after a disappointing final round of 70.
His 62, as you may have realised, came at Valhalla, and was nine shots better than par. It moved him up the leaderboard from 29th place and in total he sank putts adding up to 161 feet, a greater total than he had ever managed before. His putter was certainly hot but it just failed him on the last hole when he had a 12-foot birdie putt to shoot a major-record 61. He didn’t quite make it to strike out on his own but joined the illustrious list of five who’d scored 62s in majors.
Xander Schauffele – US PGA Championship (16th May 2024)
As already detailed, Schauffele struck out with a 62 in the first round at Valhalla and never looked back. He hit a lot of fairways, made 14 out of 18 greens in regulation and needed just 24 putts. His round had a nice symmetry too, with nine birdies and nine pars, and of course no shots dropped. Five of his birdies came in his opening nine holes, reaching the turn in 31, with four more on the back nine to come home in 31 too. Nice work!
Xander Schauffele – US Open (15th June 2023)
The last man to make a 62 at a major before Schauffele was… Schauffele. In 2024 the US golfer, who would go on to add the Open Championship title to his name too, became the only player to shoot 62 in a major twice. His effort at Valhalla came just under a year after his 62 at the US Open, played at LA Country Club.
His record-equalling round was eight under and again occurred on the Thursday. He opened with consecutive birdies and hit three more to reach the turn in just 30 shots. After birdies at 10 and 12, and then 14, a new record seemed well within reach but he could “only” par the final four holes. Incredibly his round wasn’t even good enough for the sole lead after one round, and three steady rounds followed, meaning he didn’t challenge for the title after Thursday.
Rickie Fowler – US Open (16th May 2024)
Rickie Fowler was the man who sat joint-top of the leaderboard after 18 holes at LA Country Club, also firing a round of eight under par. His day was more eventful than his compatriot’s, featuring just six pars, and only two on the back nine.
A flawless first nine saw him open with a hat-trick of birdies and like Schauffele he went out in 30. He then went birdie, bogey, birdie, par, birdie, par, birdie, bogey, birdie. To manage 32 on the back nine. From the sixth hole onwards he didn’t make the same score (in relation to par) on consecutive holes, a real rollercoaster.
Branden Grace – Open Championship (22nd July 2017)
History maker Branden Grace was the first man to shoot a 62 at a major and it happened at Royal Birkdale in the 146th Open Championship. The South African could only manage to finish tied sixth but he will remember his eight under third round forever.
Grace went out in just 29 shots, tearing Birkdale apart. His opening nine featured five threes and a two but a more sedate end to his round saw him come home in 33. After opening rounds of 70 and 74 this catapulted him up the leaderboard into tied fifth but a 70 on Sunday left him eight shots adrift of Jordan Spieth, the American leading from start to finish to claim the Claret Jug.