Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns equalled the lowest round in men’s major history with dramatic but vastly different finishes to second-round 62s in The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale.
Six days on from , carding a third-round 60 on her way to major victory, Herbert and Burns both entered golf's history books on an extraordinary Friday.
Herbert birdied four of his opening five holes and added another from 40 feet at the seventh, then picked up a shot at the ninth to reach the turn in 28 and equal the lowest front nine in a men's major.
The Australian added back-to-back birdies from the 11th and posted his ninth of the day at the par-four 16th, moving him to nine under and leaving him requiring a par-par finish to break the previous men's major record of 62.
Herbert was unable to take advantage of the par-five 17th, missing a 10-foot birdie chance, then squandered the chance for solo history when he missed from inside five feet and bogeyed the final hole.
"It was very cool to experience that, and the nerves coming down the stretch," Herbert told Your Site. "I felt the energy, everyone wanted it to happen and I felt like I kind of let everyone down, as everyone wanted to be part of watching that.
"Between shots I was able to take stock and reflect on this experience, which I'll be able to remember for the rest of my life. At 17, I was thinking of making eagle there and a round of 59! But there were so many scenarios and situations happening."
Burns was playing two groups behind Herbert and reached the turn in 32, with the American starting his back nine with successive birdies and adding another from tap-in range at the 13th.
He picked up a shot at the 16th and rolled in from 20 feet to birdie the 17th, then delighted record-breaking Open crowds by holing from the greenside bunker to birdie the par-four last and add his own place in history.
"I caught myself by surprise," Burns admitted. "I honestly feel like I played a pretty solid round of golf yesterday and then just a terrible finish there on 16, 17, 18. I thought coming into the day if I could get it to red numbers for the golf tournament, that would be a pretty good spot.
"I think the finish there the last three holes was just a bonus. It was a tricky bunker shot [at 18] 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!
The two eight-under 62s come nine years after Branden Grace being the first male to post a '62 round' in a men's major at the same venue, during the third round in 2017, with Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele (twice) and Shane Lowry the others to manage it.
Fowler and Schauffele both posted 62s during the opening round of the 2023 US Open, with Schauffele also posting a nine-under 62 in the opening round of the 2024 PGA Championship ahead of Lowry managing it in the third round.
Your Site Golf's Paul McGinley:
"I did see it happening [record-equalling low scores], watching the guys play yesterday. There was certainly low scores out there. The guys went out today with the mentality that this was a golf course to be attacked.
"Herbert is from Melbourne in Australia and is used to windy conditions and boy was the putter hot today - it has to be to score that low. On the 17th, he did everything brilliantly up to the second shot. It was almost like golf and the history of the game whispered into his ear and made him uneasy.
"His second shot at the 17th was poor, and he played the 18th pretty negatively. But what a score for him."
Your Site is once again the exclusive home of The Open in the UK and Ireland, with wall-to-wall action from the final men's major of the year throughout the weekend on Your Site Golf.
'Saturday at The Open' will kick off the third-round coverage from 9am on Your Site Golf, with early play on Your Site+ and the ahead of full coverage on Your Site Golf from 11am.
Featured Groups will also be available on Your Site+ or the , with coverage then starting for Sunday's final round from 8am on Sunday on Your Site Golf.
