Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns equal major championship record
An incredible second round at Royal Birkdale saw Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns both equal the record for the lowest score in a major. The pair both shot stunning rounds of 62 within minutes of each other in very different fashions, reports BritPanorama.
LIV Golf star Herbert etched his name into Open Championship history with nine birdies, being on course to shoot a 61. The Australian finally showed he was human on 18, missing his nearby putt to record his only bogey.
Burns completed the feat in a very different manner, sending his approach shot on 18 to the greenside bunker. The American splashed his ball out of the sand brilliantly as it trickled down into the hole for yet another birdie and a 62. The duo join four other male golfers to shoot a 62 in major history, with Shane Lowry, Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler and Branden Grace all also completing the feat.
Herbert also equalled Denis Durnian’s 1983 Open record in the front nine, taking just 28 strokes. Speaking afterwards, the LIV Golf star shared that he has “never played that well before”. “That first 12 holes, I don’t think I’ve played golf that well before. It was very cool to experience that, and the nerves coming down the stretch. I felt the energy; everyone wanted it to happen, and I felt like I kind of let everyone down, as everyone wanted to be part of watching that,” he said.
Elsewhere in Southport, Cameron Young shot an impressive three-under-par to make it back-to-back 67s in rounds one and two. The American now sits on six-under-par, in a very strong position to challenge over the weekend. Rory McIlroy also shot a 67 in round two and comfortably saw himself through to the weekend.
Several big names will already count themselves out for the weekend, with Matthew Fitzpatrick’s back-to-back 72s not good enough to make the cut. US Open winner Wyndham Clark’s three-over-par over two rounds will see him eliminated too. The cut-line is projected to be one-over-par, with former Open champion Cam Smith and PGA Championship winner Aaron Rai anxiously hoping it is lifted by one stroke.
As the weekend nears, the excitement builds not only for those looking to challenge for the title, but also for everyone eager to witness how these two record-breakers will fare against the competition.