When Xander Schauffele shot 9-under 62 Thursday in the first round at Valhalla, it was a record-low score in the history of the 106 years of the PGA Championship.
On Saturday, Shane Lowry matched that number and even stood over at 12-footer for 61, which would’ve been the lowest score in the history of men's major championship golf. Instead, he settled for a tie. Lowry started the day eight shots behind Schauffele and when his round was complete, he was 13-under par and only one shot off Schauffele’s lead.
“Probably the most disappointed anyone can ever be shooting 62,” Lowry said. “I knew what was at stake.”
The round started with a par on the first hole. But birdies on the next four consecutive holes and on six of the next eight saw Lowry turn in 29. The 37-year-old Irishman made three straight pars on Nos. 10-12 and when he birdied the 13th and 14th holes, breaking the record was within reach.
Lowry made pars on 15 and 16, then made a 6-foot birdie putt on 17 to head to the par-5 18th with a chance to make history. His tee shot was right, his second shot was left, then he muscled a wedge from 105 yards to 12 feet. The record attempt had enough pace, but it missed two inches left of the hole. Lowry only birdied one of Valhalla’s three par-5s.
Shane Lowry just matched the Men’s Major Championship scoring record with a 62. 🔥#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/edloJzyssv
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 18, 2024
“I knew I just really wanted to hole it,” he said of the final putt. “Probably too much. Yeah, it was just – I kind of stood back and allowed myself to enjoy the moment. It was a pretty cool moment to have. It would have been a pretty cool moment to kind of seal the deal and do it.
“But at the end of the day, I knew even if I didn't do it that I done what I needed to do today, and I'm pretty happy with that."
Here is a breakdown of the birdie distances on Lowry’s scorecard:
No. 2: 14 feet
No. 3: 13 feet
No. 4: 19 feet
No. 5: 7 feet
No. 7: two-putts from 60 feet (par 5)
No. 9: 17 feet
No. 13: 37 feet
No. 14: 32 feet
No. 17: 6 feet
Check Out His Full Scorecard & The Leaderboard From The 2024 PGA Championship Here
