Branden Grace made golf history today by doing something that no one had ever done in a major. He became the first player ever to shoot a 62 in a major, with many golf fans waking up in America to learn of the historic round. The 29-year-old South Africa has now put himself into contention at the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale with his third round.
How Branden Grace's 62 played out
The 146th Open Championship is the 442nd major championship to be contested in golf history, with no one having ever shot a 62 in the previous 441. However, Branden Grace's third round of 8-under par, giving him the historic 62, has now rewritten the history books after 157 years of major championships being played in golf.
For the day, Grace shot eight birdies, 10 pars, and had zero bogeys. On the front nine, he went out with a 5-under 29 and came in on the back nine with a 3-under 33. He also hit 16 out of 18 greens in regulation.
More on Grace's historical day
Ironically enough, Branden Grace was playing with 2013 PGA Champion Jason Dufner, who had one of the best chances to shot a 62 in a major. In the second round of the 2013 PGA Dufner missed a 13-foot birdie putt on the 18th that would have given him a 62.
Grace even admitted in his post round interview that he had no idea of the history he had just made, “I didn't know on 18 what was going on.” He says his caddie, Zach Rasego, came up to him after he made par on 18 and said, “Congrats, you broke the record.” Grace said he responded with, “What are you talking about?”
Besting many 63s with a major round of 62
Prior to Branden Grace making golf history with his legendary round of 62, there had been 31 different times where a player had shot a 63 in a major championship.
A chance at someone shooting a 62 had been knocking on the door, as 9 of the 31 63s had been shot in the 2010s. Of course, Johnny Miller was the first to ever shot a 63 in a major, doing so during the final round of the 1973 U.S. Open at Oakmont to win the event. Miller was, of course, commentating the event as a golf analyst for NBC, saying that “It was set up really, really easy today, folks.”
There has been one 63 at Royal Birkdale, where Grace just shot his 62.
American Jodie Mudd shot a 63 during the final round of the 1991 Open Championship. He finished at 3-under, tied for fifth and five shots behind winner Ian Baker-Finch. Out of those 31 golfers who had previously shot a 63 in a major only seven of them (22%) went on to win the event.
