British Open: Branden Grace's 62 breaks 44-year-old record
July 22, 2017
Grace (top), from South Africa, began the day at four over par, but birdied the first hole before repeating the trick on holes 4, 5, 8, 9, 14, 16 and 17. The world number 25 then two-putted from 50 feet on the 18th to finish a spectacular round and break a record that had stood since Johnny Miller's 63 at the US Open in 1973.
"It feels great. It was a special round from the start," Grace told British broadcaster Sky after sinking the final putt. "I played really good, really solid from tee to green. I missed a couple of shorter ones, but I made up for them with a couple of nice ones. It was a great day, all in all.
"I was honestly not aware of the 63 record," he continued. "My caddy Zach said 'congrats' and I was like 'Cool, I played a good round!' He said: 'That’s in the history books.' And I said: 'What are you talking about?' I had no idea. But it makes it more special now, especially to be in the history books at a place like this."
After difficult conditions on Friday, Grace was able to take advantage of near-perfect golfing weather on the event's penultimate day.
The Pretoria-born player has previously had four top-five finishes at majors, including a third place at the PGA Championship in 2015. He also equaled the record for the lowest ever round on the European Tour when he shot a 12-under-par 60 at Kingsbarns in his 2012 victory at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
mp/dv (AFP/dpa)