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SOUTHPORT, England – The ’62 Club’ added another member on Saturday at Royal Birkdale.
New Zealand’s Ryan Fox went out early and birdied half the holes to become the third player this week at Birkdale -- and fourth ever -- to shoot 8-under 62 , the lowest score in 154 playings of the Open Championship.
“You feel like you can shoot a score in the morning and the greens are perfect, that if you do roll it well, you feel like you hole everything,” Fox said. “That's kind of the day I had today, and I'm sure the other guys will say the same from yesterday.”
On Friday, Lucas Herbert made a bogey at the last to card a 62, and then, 22 minutes later Sam Burns holed a bunker shot at 18 for birdie and a 62. The first 62 in major championship history was shot by Brandon Grace in the third round in 2017 at Royal Birkdale.
Funny enough, after finding the first flag tucked right over the bunker and the second over a ridge, Fox had said to fellow playing competitor, Xander Schauffele, “the R&A have got it in for us after the two 62s yesterday.”
“Then I go and do it today,” said Fox.
He birdied the second, third, fifth and eighth to tour the front in 5-under 29.
“When you're out in the morning, when the wind's down around here, there's almost some pressure on to shoot a score,” he said.
When the 39-year-old Kiwi birdied the 10th, the idea of shooting a low figure crept into his mind.
“Then when I birdied 14, I was like I've got a chance here,” said Fox. “Obviously 17 you feel like it's a birdie hole. If you can sneak one more there, I knew I had a chance to get to that 62 number.”
It didn’t hurt that the conditions were ideal for scoring. Overcast skies and barely a breath of wind until the final holes left venerable Birkdale vulnerable.
“Standing on the last tee, I'm going if I can get one on the fairway here, you can get a wedge or a 9-iron in and have a putt for 61,” Fox said.
But he drove into a bunker. Fortunately, he drew a decent lie, finding his ball on the upslope and came to a quick decision: “I’ve got to give it a go,” he said. “I wanted to give myself a chance at 61.”
He hit a hard 8-iron that cleared the lip by an inch. Fox said he thought it may have clipped grass at the top of it.
“I was pretty happy to have that 40-footer out of the fairway trap. Didn't hit a great first putt – I’d like that first one back – but I was very happy the second one went in the middle,” he said.
Leaving the birdie effort short to become the first golfer to shoot 61 at any of the four men’s majors is unforgivable, but who can blame him for a nervy stroke with a piece of history on the line.
When Fox completed his round, he had rocketed into a tie for first with 36-hole leader Lucas Herbert, who hadn’t even teed off yet.
“He came out hot. He was hitting it close, making the putts he should make. Hit an incredible shot there on 18 out of that bunker. Took on risk when he had to, tried to stay aggressive,” said Schauffele, who has shot two of the eight rounds of 62 in major championship history and settled for 66 on Saturday. “He played amazing, and I was just trying to hop on whatever wave he was on to the best of my ability.”
Fox said nothing changes in his strategy for Sunday’s final round. He’ll try to stay aggressive in his pursuit of his first major title. After lighting up Birkdale on Saturday, Fox predicted that the course will be setup even harder than it was on Moving Day, but wondered how they’d be able to do that.
“I think they're going to find a few slopes and put them on top of bunkers tomorrow for us,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Ryan Fox fires 62 to tie record at the Open
Continue reading...
New Zealand’s Ryan Fox went out early and birdied half the holes to become the third player this week at Birkdale -- and fourth ever -- to shoot 8-under 62 , the lowest score in 154 playings of the Open Championship.
“You feel like you can shoot a score in the morning and the greens are perfect, that if you do roll it well, you feel like you hole everything,” Fox said. “That's kind of the day I had today, and I'm sure the other guys will say the same from yesterday.”
On Friday, Lucas Herbert made a bogey at the last to card a 62, and then, 22 minutes later Sam Burns holed a bunker shot at 18 for birdie and a 62. The first 62 in major championship history was shot by Brandon Grace in the third round in 2017 at Royal Birkdale.
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Funny enough, after finding the first flag tucked right over the bunker and the second over a ridge, Fox had said to fellow playing competitor, Xander Schauffele, “the R&A have got it in for us after the two 62s yesterday.”
“Then I go and do it today,” said Fox.
He birdied the second, third, fifth and eighth to tour the front in 5-under 29.
“When you're out in the morning, when the wind's down around here, there's almost some pressure on to shoot a score,” he said.
When the 39-year-old Kiwi birdied the 10th, the idea of shooting a low figure crept into his mind.
“Then when I birdied 14, I was like I've got a chance here,” said Fox. “Obviously 17 you feel like it's a birdie hole. If you can sneak one more there, I knew I had a chance to get to that 62 number.”
You must be registered for see images
It didn’t hurt that the conditions were ideal for scoring. Overcast skies and barely a breath of wind until the final holes left venerable Birkdale vulnerable.
“Standing on the last tee, I'm going if I can get one on the fairway here, you can get a wedge or a 9-iron in and have a putt for 61,” Fox said.
But he drove into a bunker. Fortunately, he drew a decent lie, finding his ball on the upslope and came to a quick decision: “I’ve got to give it a go,” he said. “I wanted to give myself a chance at 61.”
He hit a hard 8-iron that cleared the lip by an inch. Fox said he thought it may have clipped grass at the top of it.
“I was pretty happy to have that 40-footer out of the fairway trap. Didn't hit a great first putt – I’d like that first one back – but I was very happy the second one went in the middle,” he said.
Leaving the birdie effort short to become the first golfer to shoot 61 at any of the four men’s majors is unforgivable, but who can blame him for a nervy stroke with a piece of history on the line.
When Fox completed his round, he had rocketed into a tie for first with 36-hole leader Lucas Herbert, who hadn’t even teed off yet.
“He came out hot. He was hitting it close, making the putts he should make. Hit an incredible shot there on 18 out of that bunker. Took on risk when he had to, tried to stay aggressive,” said Schauffele, who has shot two of the eight rounds of 62 in major championship history and settled for 66 on Saturday. “He played amazing, and I was just trying to hop on whatever wave he was on to the best of my ability.”
Fox said nothing changes in his strategy for Sunday’s final round. He’ll try to stay aggressive in his pursuit of his first major title. After lighting up Birkdale on Saturday, Fox predicted that the course will be setup even harder than it was on Moving Day, but wondered how they’d be able to do that.
“I think they're going to find a few slopes and put them on top of bunkers tomorrow for us,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Ryan Fox fires 62 to tie record at the Open
Continue reading...
