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Branden Grace entered the third round of the 2017 Open Championship at four-over par, making the cut by just one stroke. But, it took just one day for him to push himself right back into contention, and he did so in record-breaking fashion.
As ESPN’s Bob Harig reported, Grace became the first player in history to shoot 62 in a major championship. While he has seven European Tour titles and a PGA Tour title, he, nor anyone else has put together a round at a major like he did on Saturday.
Here’s a look at Grace’s superb scorecard, via Haggis_UK:
Branden Grace’s record-breaking scorecard. #TheOpen #bbcsport #SkySports
Grace’s round featured eight birdies without a single bogey. As Harig pointed out, Grace hit 17 of 18 greens, getting up and down from over the 18th hole in order to set the record.
Here’s a look at Grace’s final putt to wrap up the first-ever 62 at a major, via the Golf Channel’s official Twitter:
THERE IT IS! @BrandenGrace fires the first-ever 62 in major championship history at #TheOpen!
To make matters even more amazing, Grace did this after shooting 74 the round before during some brutally bad weather. And if Grace’s accomplishment doesn’t seem amazing enough, consider this stat from ESPN’s Jason Sobel:
They’ve been playing major championships for 157 years. This is the 441st. There’s never been a 62 — until now. Branden Grace has done it.
It’s been 157 years and 440 other major events, but no one has ever put together a round as strong as Grace just did on Saturday. Now it’s time to see what he’ll be able to do on Sunday and whether or not he can push for The Open Championship victory.