Branden Grace shot a third-round 8-under 62 on Saturday at the 2017 British Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in England, setting the mark for the lowest single round in men's major championship history.
The typically difficult Birkdale was defenseless on Saturday morning and afternoon as winds died down and an overnight rain left greens soft and receptive to the South African's assault.
Grace got the round started with a birdie on the first hole, then made back-to-back birdies on the par-3 fourth and par-4 fifth. He finished the par-34 front nine with a pair of birdies on the eighth and ninth, turning in 29 strokes and making a rapid charge up the leaderboard after beginning the day tied for 45th place.
On the par-36 back nine, Grace began with four pars before putting a circle on the card on the par-3 14th. Grace then missed an opportunity on the first of the course's only par 5s on the 15th hole, just making a par. Then he made a 35-footer for birdie on the 16th hole, a routine birdie on the par-5 17th and capped it off with a par on the 18th hole to make major championship history.
The previous record for the lowest round in men's major championship history was 63, shot 31 different times, including 10 times in the British Open Championship.
The all-time record for the lowest round in any major championship, male or female players, is 61, a 10-under round shot by Hyo-joo Kim in the first round of the 2014 Evian Championship in France.
