Herbert and Burns share major championship record with 62 at Open
Lucas Herbert missed a final putt to hold the record exclusively, while Sam Burns completed a birdie-birdie-birdie finish to join the elite group of 62s in major championship history.
Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns have matched the lowest single-round score in major championship history with rounds of 62 during the second round of the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale Golf Club. The achievement places the Australian and American golfers in exclusive company, joining a list of five other players who have previously recorded a 62 in a major.
Herbert, ranked 97th in the world, finished the round at nine under par but narrowly missed securing the record exclusively. Heading into the par-4 18th hole, which was playing as the most difficult on the course, Herbert was nine under. His drive sliced into the native area under a security railing, requiring relief, and his approach from 173 yards stopped 15 feet below the green. After putting from off the green to five feet, Herbert missed the par putt, resulting in his only bogey of the round.
Sam Burns secured his 62 with a dramatic conclusion to his round. The American golfer finished with a birdie-birdie-birdie sequence on the back nine, holing out from a greenside bunker on the 18th hole to match Herbert’s score. The round took place under fast, dry, and windless conditions at the Southport venue.
Herbert’s performance included a blistering front nine, where he recorded birdies on holes 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 to finish at 28. This score equals the Open Championship front-nine record previously set by Denis Durnian in 1983 at the same venue. Despite the strong start, Herbert faced challenges on the 17th, pulling his approach into the native area between the grandstands before saving par with a chip and two-putt.
Following 36 holes, Herbert holds a two-stroke lead over Jackson Suber, who carded a 1-under 69 to sit at six under par. Herbert, a member of the LIV Golf League’s Ripper GC team, recently won the LIV Golf tournament at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia on May 10. Five other golfers have recorded a 62 in a major, including Xander Schauffele and Shane Lowry at the 2024 PGA Championship, and Branden Grace at the 2017 Open Championship.
