Branden Grace secured his place in golf history by becoming the first player in Major competitions to shoot 62 – breaking a 157-year-old record at Royal Birkdale.
WATCH: Grace’s 62 breaks Major history
Grace revealed after his monumental par save at the last that he had no idea that he was on track for a place among the greats in the game, while his caddie Zach Rasego found out before his last putt via Jason Dufner’s caddie.
‘I had no idea I was about to shoot the lowest round ever,’ said Grace, 29.
‘I was in the zone, trying to finish the round and it’s never nice to finish with a bogey,’ Grace added. ‘After I made it, my caddie told me the situation and that made it even better.’
Grace’s 9 best shots on Saturday:
His first drive:
Grace took driver on the first, a hole that ended many rounds before they began this week, but his day got off to a great start by leaving himself just 127 yards to the hole. He hit gap wedge to 16 feet and sank the putt, setting the wheels in motion.
His putt on four:
After finding the green on the par 3 fourth, Grace got himself into the groove by sinking a 35-foot putt for birdie, which warmed up the putter nicely.
One putt on the 8th:
After three two-putts in a row, Grace produced another beautiful putt from 25 feet for his fourth birdie of the day.
16th redemption:
After a lip-out on the 15th, which resulted in par, Grace was back in contention for glory after sinking a putt from 28 feet on the 16th. That putt meant that he would make history if he could birdie the par 5 17th and close with a par.
Not leaving it for the last:
Grace played the 17th to perfection with a good drive and 3-iron on to the green. His testing putt for eagle was lagged to perfection as he made his eighth birdie with a relative tap-in.
Every shot counts:
He may insist he didn’t know about the history, but there’s no doubt the nerves would’ve been there, knowing he was on track for a really, really low number. His drive was inch perfect, but an adrenaline-pumping wedge pitched the back of the green and rolled over, to the gasps of the galleries. A wonderful touch meant that there would be no heartbreak as he tapped in his 62nd shot of the day.
