07/17/26 10:41:00
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07/17 10:40 CDT Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns match the major championship record
with 62s at the British Open
Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns match the major championship record with 62s at the
British Open
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
SOUTHPORT, England (AP) --- Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns each matched the major
championship scoring record Friday in the British Open with 62s, in
extraordinary rounds at Royal Birkdale that were separated by 22 minutes and by
vastly different reactions.
Herbert bent over with hands on his knees after missing a 5-foot par putt on
the 18th hole at Royal Birkdale, knowing the 30-year-old Australian was an inch
away from being the first man with a 61. Burns wasn't even aware of the record
when he holed a bunker shot to cap a birdie-birdie-birdie finish.
"I'm absolutely disappointed, and at the same time, so proud of today," Herbert
said. "Very, very proud to put my name on that list of guys that have shot 62
in a major championship. So it's kind of holding two emotions there at the same
time.
"It's a pretty good problem to have, too, to be disappointed you shot 62."
Most remarkable about Burns is that the 29-year-old American --- the runner-up
at the U.S. Open last month --- wasn't even planning to play in The Open. His
wife was due this week, and when she gave birth to a daughter earlier than
expected, Burns decided a week ago Friday to make the trip.
Still steaming from a bogey-bogey-bogey finish on Thursday for a 3-over 73, his
goal was to get back under par and keep his hopes alive in the championship.
"The finish there the last three holes was just a bonus," Burns said.
And what a finish. He holed from 40 feet off the green at the 16th for birdie,
made a 20-foot birdie putt on the 17th and then made the first birdie of the
day on the tough 18th by splashing out of the pot bunker and calmly raising his
right arm when it went in.
"It was a tricky bunker shot because I had to land it in the fringe there and
use the slope down to the hole. Definitely very lucky for it to go in," Burns
said.
That two record-tying rounds happened so close together was reminiscent of
Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele --- also two groups apart --- each with 62
in the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club in 2023.
The record was first set by Branden Grace in 2017, also at Royal Birkdale. It
had been matched four times since then at two majors --- Schauffele and Fowler
at the U.S. Open, and Schauffele and Shane Lowry at 9-under 62 in the 2024 PGA
Championship at Valhalla.
The amazing rounds came one week after Haeran Ryu set the women's major record
with a 60 at the Evian Championship in France, where all lowest scores in LPGA
majors have been set.
Herbert's round was simply flawless until the final hole. A self-described golf
nerd, he allowed himself a thought about a record score on a par-70 links after
three straight birdies to start the round. And the birdies kept coming until he
was 8 under through 12 holes, with the two reachable par 5s still to play.
"I might not play 12 better holes in my life," he said.
Herbert was a foot away from a mid-iron into the par-5 14th, but it just caught
a pot bunker, and he had to save par from a greenside bunker. But he holed a
7-foot birdie putt on the 16th to reach 9 under, and he missed a 10-foot birdie
attempt on the par-5 17th.
He went into the right rough off the 18th tee, came up short of the green and
from 50 feet away on the baked fairway, Herbert rolled it some 5 feet short of
the hole. The putt looked left of the cup from the moment it left his putter.
"I didn't hit a bad putt. I can at least sleep easy tonight knowing I didn't
hit a bad putt," Herbert said. "I just misread it. It's pretty tough when
you've got a putt for the major championship record to get everything to work
and to get everything to sync perfectly still and straight."
Three of the seven rounds of 62 have come at Royal Birkdale, and weather played
a role. There was a breeze for so much of the morning, and players took aim.
Eric Cole was first out with a 64. Patrick Reed (66) reached 6 under through 12
holes before he slowed.
"It's pretty benign, and if you were ever going to do it, this was the morning
for it," said Herbert, who now plays on LIV Golf and has won on five tours.
"These guys are good. I'm probably not as surprised as you think that there's
another 62 out there. I'm probably more surprised at myself shooting 62, to be
honest."
Of the seven rounds of 62 in the majors, Schauffele at the PGA Championship is
the only one to leave with the trophy.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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