62 GRACE AMAZING
Branden blitzes Birkdale
OPEN history was created at Royal Birkdale yesterday.
South African Branden Grace shot an eight- underpar 62, the lowest round ever in a Major.
He later admitted he hadn’t realised his round was so special.
“My whole thing on the 18th was just trying not to make a bogey,” said the 29-year-old.
“I knocked in the two or three-footer then my caddie Zack came up and said: ‘You’re in the history books’.
“I didn’t know what he was talking about. So that makes the day even sweeter.”
While a South African was making the headlines, it was Americans who were battling over the Claret Jug.
Jordan Spieth is the leader, with Matt Kuchar and Brooks Koepka snapping at his heels, along with Canadian Aus t in Connelly.
BRANDEN GRACE made Major Championship history at Royal Birkdale yesterday but was totally oblivious that his 62 was so special.
The whole of golf was aware of the significance as Grace rolled in this final putt. But it needed a quick word from his caddie, Zack Rasego, to tell him that he was a record breaker.
There have been 31 rounds of 63 in Majors, but no one had broken that elusive barrier until the South African.
It was one of those days when everything came together. Little wind and a course softened by Friday’s rain made Birkdale attackable and Grace did the rest with a magic 18 holes.
In golfing terms, he was absolutely ‘in the zone’.
“I honestly didn’t know,” he said. “My whole thing on the 18th was just trying not to make a bogey.
“Obviously I knocked in the two or three-footer and Zack came up and said: ‘ You’re in the history books’. I didn’t know what he was talking about. “That makes the day even sweeter. “It’s always nice shooting a low number whether it’s any day of the week, in a tournament or with friends.
“But then finding out what you’ve done makes it even better. To do it at The Open Championship is very special. It’s awesome and something I’ll remember forever.
“I just played flawless golf. I think I missed two fairways and two greens the whole day and the putter was hot.
“I was really concentrating on getting myself back into this tournament to give myself a chance tomorrow.”
There had been plenty of birdies out on the course before Grace had even started and he joined in with a one at the first before he gained momentum with two more at the fourth and fifth.
When he birdied the eighth and ninth to reach the turn in 29, the whispers about a possible 62 began.
They cooled with four straight pars but were reignited when Grace holed monster putts at the 14th and 16th to get to sevenunder for the day.
Suddenly the 29- year- old only had to find one more birdie to put his name into the record books.
That came when he reached the parfive 17th in two and he duly two-putted for his eighth of the day.
He just needed a four at the last and he managed that as he impressively got down in two from the back of the green to seal his place in golfing history.
Last month, Grace donated nearly £90,000 to help victims of devastating fires near where he grew up around Knysna in South Africa and he hoped his historic round might offer some cheer back home.
He added, “One spectator out there said ‘Do it for Knysna,’. That was great.
“It was really tragic what happened back there. But knowing I was in a position to help, that was the right thing to do. You don’t think twice.
“Hopefully a lot of lives can be changed and restored. But the thought of just making one or two people there smile because of my golf means a lot.”
Grace started the day in a tie for 45th on four-over-par. But his scintillating display left him in a tie for fifth.
However, while the South African was breaking records, Jordan Spieth maintained a firm grip on the destiny of the Claret Jug.
Spieth began the day with a two- shot cushion and did not drop a single shot as he fired a brilliant 65 to move three clear of fellow American Matt Kuchar, who managed a fine 66.
US Open Champion Brooks Koepka occupies third place with rookie Canadian Austin Connelly at five-under, but six off the pace, as he tries to become the first man since Tiger Woods in 2000 to win both that and The Open in the same year.
Rory McIlroy looked all set to make a Saturday charge when he picked up three shots in his first five holes, including a chip-in at the fourth.
But he handed all those back in a costly spell around the turn, culminating in a double bogey at the 10th, and the 2014 Open winner would surely have been looking for better than his eventual 69 and he ended nine behind Spieth.
It was a similar story for Ian Poulter. He had talked up his chances after round two but a mixed bag of a 71 saw him heading backwards on the leaderboard.
So after one of the most exciting days in The Open’s long history, which was made special by Grace, Spieth remains the man to catch over the final 18 holes.