The first one came in 1977.
It was another 14 years before someone did it again.
It was then eight years after that before it happened a third time.
Breaking 60 has always held mythical status in golf.
Al Geiberger (1977), Chip Beck (1991) and David Duval (1999) were the first three to pull it off.
Since 2010, there have been eight more PGA Tour golfers who shot a 59, including Jim Furyk, who also shot a record-setting 58 from in 2016. He remains the only golfer to shoot a 58 on Tour and he’s the only golfer to break 60 twice.
Scottie Scheffler also broke 60 on the PGA Tour, shooting a 59 in the second round of the 2020 Northern Trust. It was the 12th time that a Tour golfer broke 60.
At the 2024 Travelers Championship, Cameron Young got off to a red-hot start in the third round on Saturday and knocked in a tester for par on the final hole of the day to become the 13th player to turn the trick. He began with two birdies before recording an eagle on the par-4 third hole. He added five more birdies and an eagle on the par-4 15th hole.
His previous low on the PGA Tour was a 62, recorded in 2022 in the second round of the Genesis Invitational.
On the LPGA, there has only been one 59. It came in 2001 and was accomplished by Annika Sorenstam.
Bryson DeChambeau joined the 58 Club after his 12-under round in a LIV Golf event. Joaquin Niemann’s 59 in the 2024 LIV opener made him the second on that circuit to do it.
Here’s a closer look at the sub-60 rounds on the PGA Tour:
Jim Furyk tore up the course at TPC River Highlands on Aug. 7, 2016, with a 12-under 58 in the Travelers Championship, the first and still only 58 on the PGA Tour. His round included 10 birdies, an eagle and seven pars. While six players had previously shot 59 in a PGA Tour round, Furyk became the first to earn the “Mr. 58” distinction. He’s also the first player to shoot two sub-60 rounds in official golf tournaments, as he also shot a 59 in the second round of the 2013 BMW Championship. Furyk finished the tournament tied for fifth.
Al Geiberger was the first player to shoot 59 in a PGA Tour event when he did so during the second round in 1977 at Colonial Country Club. Known at “Mr. 59,” he had 11 birdies and an eagle on the par-72 course. He remains the only PGA Tour history to win a non-major without a single round in the 60s. His other rounds at that Memphis Classic were 72, 72 and 70. Geiberger went on to win the tournament by three shots over Jerry McGee and Gary Player.
During the third round of the 1991 Las Vegas Invitational at the Sunrise Golf Course, Chip Beck caught fire and shot a 13 under (all birdies) on the par-72 layout. He made the turn, after starting on the back nine, with a 7-under 29. He proceeded to shoot 6 under on the front and become the second golfer in Tour history to break 60. “The way I did it today, I could have shot 59 anywhere,” Beck told the Los Angeles Times after his round. “It’s nice to be aligned with Geiberger. He’s always been a hero of mine.” He finished tied for third.
It took 14 years between the first and second 59s in PGA Tour history. It was another eight years before the third 59 was posted. It came when David Duval played the final round of the 1999 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. He trailed by 7 shots after three rounds but carded 10 birdies heading through 17 holes. He then eagled the par-5 18th with a 6-foot putt to get his 59 and clinch the victory. Duval’s 59 was the first to come in the final round.
An opening-round 59 happened at the John Deere Classic in 2010 as Paul Goydos just needed 22 putts to get to 12 under. His 8-under 28 on the back nine matched the lowest nine-hole score in relation to par on the PGA Tour. He then continued with a 4-under on the front nine. It was the first of two 59s on Tour in 2010. Goydos finished second in the tournament, two shots back of Steve Stricker.
A final round 11-under 59 at the 2010 Greenbrier Classic allowed Stuart Appleby to grab his fifth PGA Tour title in style. He had nine birdies on his front nine, then an eagle and three more birdies on the back nine becoming the fifth player on the PGA Tour to break 60 and the second player to do so in 2010.
Three years before Furyk shot his 58, he posted a 59 in the second round of the BMW Championship. The 2018 U.S. Ryder Cup captain made 11 birdies and holed out for eagle on the par-4 15th hole at Conway Farms Golf Club. He made a 3-footer at the par-4 ninth hole, his final hole. For the tournament, Fuyrk finished third, three shots back of winner Zach Johnson.
Justin Thomas posted the seventh 59 and eighth sub-60 score in PGA Tour history at the 2017 Sony Open. Thomas opened with an eagle to get to 9 under through 13 on the par-70 Waialae Country Club. He faced a 10-footer for par on No. 8 (his 17th), and he needed to make it drop to keep the 59 hopes alive. He drained it. Needing an eagle at the last to shoot 59, he hit his second shot on the par 5 to 15 feet. The rest is history. Thomas went on to win the tournament by seven shots over Justin Rose.
Adam Hadwin fired a 13-under 59 at the 2017 CareerBuilder Challenge, becoming the eighth player in PGA Tour history to shoot 59. His round came during Round 3 at La Quinta Country Club, one of three courses being played for the tournament. Hadwin finished the event in second, one shot behind winner Hudson Swafford.
Snedeker shot 11-under 59 Thursday in the first round of the Wyndham Championship thanks to a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 9, his final hole of the day at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina. Snedeker teed off on No. 10 and shot an inconspicuous 3-under 32 over his first nine holes, which included an opening bogey. He tore it up down the stretch with an 8-under 27 over his last nine holes, with six birdies and a 176-yard eagle hole-out at the par-4 sixth. He’s the first player ever to break 60 after starting with a bogey. Snedeker won the tournament by three shots.
Kevin Chappell shot a 59 during the second round of A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier in 2019. He used a record-tying stretch of nine-consecutive birdies to reach 11-under for the day, becoming the 11th player to break 60 in the history of the PGA Tour. He finished the event T-47.
Add another 59 to the PGA Tour record books. Scottie Scheffler logged the iconic number at TPC Boston in the second round of the 2020 Northern Trust. Scheffler’s round of 12-under 59 came after an opening 1-under 70. He clinched the 59 with a four-footer for birdie on the par-5 closing hole. It’s the 12th time a PGA Tour golfer broke 60.
Cameron Young made it interesting on the last hole, but he sunk a nine-foot putt for par on the 18th hole and finished with a 59 in the third round of the Travelers Championship.