By The Rex Factor
Six players had shot a 59 in an official PGA Tour round. One of those players is Jim Furyk.
Sunday, he set a record that he holds alone by becoming the first player in pro golf history to shoot a 58 in a competitive round.
This feat is so noteworthy that very few people will likely remember who wins this weekend’s Travelers Championship at the TPD River Highlands course in Cromwell, Conn. Vital Ryder Cup points are at stake but if Furyk is healthy, he has to at least be considered by captain Davis Love III to compete against the Europeans at Hazeltine National Gold Club in Minnesota that starts next month.
Furyk’s round consisted of just 24 putts and he shot a 12-under par 58 by racking up 10 birdies and an eagle. The Pennsylvania native hit all 18 greens in regulation and every fairway as well.
The 46-year old veteran has won 17 times on Tour and has 27 total wins as a pro. Included in his haul are a US Open crown, and he’s been a PGA Tour Player of the Year. The 27-31 round was highlighted by an 11-under start through his first 12 holes. Furyk holed out from 135 yards on the third hole for eagle. He hit approach shots to inside of 3 feet on both No. 7 and No. 9.
Amazingly, he played the final six holes in just one-under and still was able to card a 58.
Furyk finished his round with a two-putt on the final hole, then gave a fist pump and waved to the admiring fans, who were chanting “58! 58!” as he walked off the green to sign his scorecard and make it official.
He was the last player to break 60 on Tour after carding his 59 in the 2013 BMW Championship. A few players have shot a 58 in the past, and Stephan Jaeger did it just last week on the Web.com tour.
Just how incredible is this feat? A conservative guess is that there have been roughly 1.5 million PGA competitive rounds played and no one had ever gone below 59.
For some context, there have been 23 perfect games pitched in major league baseball history in roughly 215,000 games and four games where a pitcher struck out at least 20 batters.
“There are a lot of rounds that have been played by a lot of great players ahead of me that have never reached 58,” Furyk said to the Golf Channel shortly after his round. “To hold that record here on the PGA Tour is phenomenal to have a little small place in history. It’s something you dream of.”
The first sub-60 round in Tour history came from Al Geiberger in 1977 and Sunday’s was officially the seventh on record.
Contrast Sunday’s round with his Friday round at the PGA Championship last week. He was in a group with Francesco Molinari and Shane Lowry that played the entire front nine where none of the three had a birdie.
Perhaps the most incredible thing of all is that Furyk has a competitive 59 and a 58 – and didn’t win at either tournament!
The post Furyk makes PGA Tour history Sunday, cards 58 appeared first on Ask The Bookie.