The Lowest Rounds of Golf in History

Bryson DeChambeau produced an electrifying finish at The Greenbrier to win the latest LIV Golf event after holing a 40-footer to shoot a final round of 58.

The American described it as the "greatest moment of my career" - it was certainly the lowest score of his professional life.

Breaking 60 is viewed as the ultimate for elite players, the equivalent of climbing one of the tallest peaks on Earth. Tiger Woods claims that he has only shot 59 once - at Isleworth Country Club a week before his dominant breakthrough victory at the Masters in 1997.

The Old White Course at The Greenbrier had previously been the site of another historic low round; namely Stuart Appleby's 59 on the PGA Tour in 2010.

But a 58 is demonstrably more unique and difficult to accomplish - making what DeChambeau did truly noteworthy.

It got us thinking about other low rounds that have been officially recorded in professional golf and beyond.

Japanese sensation Ryo Ishikawa was the first golfer on a major tour to shoot 58. That occurred at The Crowns in 2010, when the teenage star won by five strokes after his extraordinary final round display.

Six years later, it was the ever-efficient Jim Furyk who strolled up the leaderboard on Sunday at The Travelers Championship to become the first player on the PGA Tour to post a round of 58. Perhaps most remarkably, the veteran major winner only birdied one of his last six holes at TPC River Highlands. Being something of a trend-setter, Furyk has also shot 59 in competition.

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

In 2021, South Korea's Kim Seong-hyeon put together a 58 of his own to claim a tie for 11th on the Japan Golf Tour's Golf Partner Pro-Am Tournament.

Stephan Jager (Web.com Tour) and Alejandro del Rey (Challenge Tour) have also shot 58s during the past decade, while Jason Bohn recorded a final day 13-under 58 to win the Bayer Championship on the Canadian Open.

John Hahn (2014 European Tour Qualifying School) and Shigeki Maruyama (2000 US Open Qualifying) can also declare that they have shot a 58 in a competitive environment.

Should you consider courses with a par lower than 70, then we have seen one 57 in a professional setting. David Carey achieved that in 2019 when he was 11-under on a par 68 at the Cervino Open on the Alps Tour. Decades earlier, Trish Johnson, Jane Connachan, and Dale Reid shot 58 on a par 65 on the Ladies European Tour.

57s were also shot by Bobby Wyatt in the 2010 Alabama Boys Junior Championship, and 20-year-old college player Alex Ross in the 2019 Dogwood Invitational, whose round at the Druid Hills Golf Club in Atlanta comprised of 13 birdies and one eagle.

Annika Sorenstam's second round at the Standard Register PING in 2001 remains the solitary 59 posted on the LPGA Tour.

59s have been comparatively commonplace in recent decades. Gary Player shot that number at the 1974 Brazil Open, while it was Al Geiberger who set that standard on the PGA Tour in 1977. 

Since then, the likes of David Duval, Paul Goydos, Justin Thomas, Adam Hadwin and Scottie Scheffler have shot 59s on the PGA Tour.

Oliver Fisher's second round at the 2018 Portugal Masters is credited as the first 59 on the European Tour, while Kevin Sutherland and Miguel Angel Martin have ticked that box in senior tour golf.

In the men's major championships, Johnny Miller's 63 stood as the number to better for almost 50 years until Branden Grace's 62 at Royal Birkdale in 2017. That was matched (within minutes of each other) by Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele at the 2023 US Open. 

At the Evian Championship, Hyo Joo Kim, Jeongeun Lee6 and Leona Maguire have each shot 61 in that women's major.

However, when you broaden your criteria beyond a tournament setting, the Guinness World Records officially recognises the 55 of Australian pro Rhein Gibson who made 12 birdies and two eagles in a round at the 6,700 yard par 71 River Oaks Golf Club in Edmond, Oklahoma, USA on 12 May 2012.

Eight years later, in the same state, Alexander Hughes shot an extraordinary 55 on the South Lakes Golf Course municipal course that measured 6,413 yards.

With continued advances in the modern game, it seems likely that more records will fall. Bryson DeChambeau's 58 in a competitive, high-stakes event was special, but one day that could supplant 59 and become the new benchmark for top-level golfers to strive for.