British Open: Branden Grace shoots 62 to break 44-year-old record

DW—Branden Grace made history on Saturday when he became the first golfer to shoot a round of 62 at a major championship. Jordan Spieth had a solid third round as well, increasing his lead before the final day.

Grace, 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’s number 25 golfer 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 to move to within two shots of overnight leader Jordan Spieth.

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. Spieth with three-shot lead Jordan Spieth, who burst onto the golfing scene two years ago after winning the Masters and the US Open, also played a bogey-free round on Saturday, shooting 65.He has a threeshot lead over playing partner and fellow American Justin Kuchar, who shot 66 in his third round.

This year’s US Open champion Brooks Koepka had a more eventful day, bogeying four times and birdying six times to shoot 68 on the day. He is tied with Canadian Austin Connolly for third place at five under par.