In the space of about 20 minutes, two players added to men’s major golf history at Royal Birkdale – but the reactions on the 18th green could not have been more contrasting.
When Australia’s Lucas Herbert missed a five-foot par putt on the last, there was a grimace from him and a groan from the galleries.
The bogey meant he had missed a golden chance to become the first man to shoot 61 at one of the sport’s blue-riband events.
Shortly afterwards, Sam Burns of the United States chipped in from a greenside bunker to also record an eight-under-par round of 62.
Burns punched the air as a rapturous roar – which ripped across the course – reverberated in his ears.
His brilliant birdie meant he matched Herbert’s score as the pair became only the sixth and seventh men to shoot 62 at a major.
“I’ve got a lot of emotions, whether its relief or pride, or disappointment,” Herbert told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“But I’m in a great position going into the weekend and got my name in the record books.
“There are a lot of things to be proud of and when the dust settles that’s what I’ll focus on the most.”
Herbert and Burns joined South Africa’s Branden Grace as the only player to shoot a 62 at the Open, which also came at Royal Birkdale in 2017.
Herbert, a self-confessed “golf nerd”, knew how close he was to history and despondently stooped down with his hands on his knees after missing the putt.
However, the LIV golfer quickly assessed the bigger picture and takes salvation from the fact he set the clubhouse lead at eight under par.
Burns is three shots behind on five under after starting at three over par on Friday, with overnight leader Jackson Suber, who followed his opening 65 with a 69, sandwiched between them on six under.
The different journeys taken by Herbert and Burns to the same record-equalling destination was further underlined when the 29-year-old American spoke to the media shortly afterwards.
“I didn’t know 62 was the record. I had no idea,” said Burns.
Herbert tried to ‘stay present’ with history beckoning
Herbert looked set to become the first player to shoot a 61 in a major and only needed a par on the 18th to create history.
However, the final hole has statistically being playing the hardest on the course in round two and he pushed his tee-shot well right of the fairway – flirting with out of bounds and ultimately needing a penalty-free drop after his ball nestled close to the fence separating the fairway from the spectators.
With a large posse of reporters, broadcasters and cameras behind him, Herbert chopped out of the long, wispy fescue with an approach short of the green and putted beneath the hole with his third stroke.
After tugging his short shot at history left of the hole, Herbert bent over in disappointment before composing himself to tap in.
The finish may have been unfulfilling, but that should not cloud what was a splendid performance.
Asked if he realised on the course that he had the opportunity to create history, Herbert, who plays on the LIV Golf circuit and won his first tournament in May, said: “Nobody was telling me but I definitely knew.
“I did a great job of staying present and not thinking about the records. I needed to take care of what I was doing and I did a pretty good job of that.”
The lowest score in any major was recorded by South Korea’s Haeran Ryu, who shot an 11-under-par 60 on her way to winning the Evian Championship earlier this month.
Burns thought he had ‘zero per cent’ of playing at Birkdale
Burns’ achievement is made even more remarkable by the fact he was not even planning to play at Birkdale this year.
The world number 18 anticipated the US Open at Shinnecock Hills would be his final major of the year, with his wife Caroline expecting their second child on 14 July.
But their baby girl Belle arrived almost a fortnight early and the family decided Burns should head to Merseyside.
“I thought there was zero per cent chance of playing,” Burns said.
“My agent said ‘I’m going to sign you up just in case’, but I thought I was probably not going to be able to play.
“Then we ended up having her on 3 July. Even then, I still wasn’t expecting to play by any means. I had a bunch of conversations with my wife, and she encouraged me to come over and play, and here we are.”
Who else is in the 62 club?
For years, trying to break 63 in a men’s major was the ultimate record.
Grace holed eight birdies in a bogey-free third round at Birkdale, beating a previous best score of 63 which had been recorded 31 times.
Since then there have been six more 62s – and they have all come in twos.
In 2023, Rickie Fowler shot 62 at the US Open at Los Angeles Country Club – and Xander Schauffele followed him just half an hour later.
A year later, Schauffele shot his second 62 in the first round of the 2024 US PGA Championship at Valhalla, with Ireland’s Shane Lowry adding another in round three.
Now Herbert and Burns have come up with another record-equalling pair on the Southport links.
