SOUTHPORT, England — Lucas Herbert tied The Open Championship scoring record with a round of 62 at Royal Birkdale on Friday, and according to the 30-year-old Australian, the thought of making history crossed his mind as early as the third hole.
“I’m too much of an optimist, and I thought it when I hit it to about 5 feet on the third hole,” he said. “I’m a golf nerd anyway, so I know all the numbers, all the records, everything like that.”
Herbert couldn’t help himself. As a member of LIV Golf, Herbert understands that his participation in the four majors isn’t guaranteed, so he places a particular emphasis on the opportunities when he gets them. Herbert qualified for The Open by finishing runner-up at the New Zealand Open, and has played just three other majors in the last three years.
“It was a bit of fun for the rest of the day just trying to acknowledge the fact that there was a chance, but just to try to continue to go about what I was doing normally and naturally as best I could,” he continued.
Within a half-hour, however, Herbert’s round had been matched by Sam Burns, signaling to the rest of the golf world just what is possible at a baked-out golf course with little-to-no wind to act as a defense. The result was surprising because it was uncertain that Burns would even be teeing it up this week at Royal Birkdale.
His wife, Caroline, was due to give birth during the tournament, but the baby came early, and Burns was able to make the trip across the pond without hesitation.
“I thought there was zero percent chance,” Burns said of his ability to attend the tournament. “Brett, my agent, was like, I’m just going to sign you up just in case. I was like, you can, but I’m probably not going to be able to play.
“Then we ended up having her on (July 3). Even then, I still wasn’t expecting to play by any means. Had a bunch of conversations with my wife, and she encouraged me to come over here and play, and here we are.”
Lucas Herbert shot a 62 on Friday to take the lead at The Open Championship. (Andy Buchanan / AFP via Getty Images)
While Burns and Herbert’s scores tie Branden Grace for the lowest-ever round at The Open (and the four other times that someone has shot 62 at a major), Herbert had a chance for more, missing a 7-foot par putt on the 18th hole for his only bogey of the day. Herbert described the error as a mis-read, and his caddie, Nick Pugh, confirmed that there would have been a lot going through Herbert’s mind standing over that putt.
“I back Lucas 100 times out of 100 to hole those 4 footers,” Pugh said to a collection of reporters outside the mixed zone. “He’s one of the best putters in the world. He knocks them in all day long. But again, when you know what’s on the line, there’s probably just a little distraction.”
Herbert and his caddie embraced after the final putt dropped. They share an unusually close relationship for a caddie-player duo. Herbert revealed after the round that Pugh served as the reverend at he and his wife’s wedding last year.
“I said to him after missing that putt on the last, like, I love doing this stuff with you, mate,” Herbert said.
Some social media controversy ensued during the round on Friday when Sky Sports caught Pugh using a rangefinder.
The device lacked its battery, turning it from an electronic measure of distance and slope into a set of binoculars. Pugh first brought up using it as such to the R&A, The Open’s organizing body, at the beginning of the week and was approved to do so. He said he also informed Herbert’s playing partners before the start of the round on Thursday, and then got a double confirmation from the walking rules official that he was not violating tournament rules.
“Look, I’ll be honest with you guys, my eyesight isn’t great. The glasses aren’t just there to make me look cool. So yeah, I sometimes struggle when the ball comes down,” Pugh said. “I mean, this guy hits it a long way. He hits it 380 yards yesterday with a 3-wood. And if he wants to know if the ball is in the bunker or not, these old eyes don’t see it so well. So I’ll generally use the rangefinder, which pretty clearly has no battery inside, so it does nothing more than just magnify, if you will.”
LIV Golf does allow for the use of rangefinders’ full capabilities, as does the PGA Championship. The PGA Tour has experimented with it as a way to speed up the pace of play.
Burns, playing two groups behind Herbert, got to 62 (and 5-under for the tournament) impressively, splashing his third shot out of the greenside bunker and landing it on the fringe, watching as it rolled into the hole for birdie.
Burns is coming off a second-place finish at the U.S. Open last month, by some margin his best-ever major finish. He bogeyed the final three holes on Thursday at The Open, and only got to even-par for the week after a birdie on No. 10. But that was the first of six birdies on the back nine for the 29-year-old from Louisiana. He birdied the last three holes.
Herbert, ranked No. 109 in the world on DataGolf.com entering the week, has a spotty major championship record before Royal Birkdale. His best previous finish is a tie for 13th place at the 2022 Open Championship, and he has missed four of the last five cuts in majors. Herbert did not qualify for the Masters or PGA Championship this year.
After firing a first-round 70, Herbert started his second round hot with birdies on his first three holes, making 36 feet of putts just in that stretch. He kept it up, with a 36-foot birdie putt on the par-3 seventh and another birdie on the ninth to complete a front-nine 28, the lowest nine-hole score at The Open since Denis Durnian in 1983.
Three more birdies on holes Nos. 11, 12 and 16 got him to 9-under-par on the round and suddenly chasing history.
Both Xander Schauffele and Shane Lowry shot a 62 at the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky. Schauffele and Rickie Fowler each shot a 62 at the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club.
Greg Norman and Nick Price each shot a 63 at the Masters, which is a par 72.
