Lowest rounds of golf

The lowest officially recorded round of golf is 55 by Rhein Gibson (12 birdies, two eagles, one hole in one on a par 71) on May 12, 2012, at River Oaks Golf Club in Edmond, Oklahoma. This score is recognized by the Guinness World Records.[2]

Three other rounds of 55 are documented, but these are commonly discounted due to the length of the course or the nature of the round.[3] On August 27, 2020, another was added, as Alexander Hughes shot a 55 in Jenks, Oklahoma, within 100 miles of where Gibson had his best day.[4]

Possibly the lowest documented round in competitive golf is 57, achieved by (among others) Bobby Wyatt in the 2010 Alabama Boys Junior Championship, and Alex Ross in the 2019 Dogwood Invitational. Ross's round was 15-under-par for the Druid Hills Golf Club course in Atlanta, and included 13 birdies and one eagle.[5]

In men's major championships the lowest round is 62 which was first recorded by South African golfer Branden Grace in the third round of the 2017 Open Championship. In the first round of the 2024 PGA Championship, Xander Schauffele became the first golfer to record a round of 62 in a major championship twice.

Many players have recorded a score of 63.[92] Johnny Miller was the first golfer to shoot 63 in a major and was the only golfer to shoot 63 in the final round to win a major until Henrik Stenson did so as well during the 2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club. Greg Norman, Vijay Singh, Brooks Koepka and Tommy Fleetwood are the only golfers to record two rounds of 63 in the majors.[93]

In women's major championships the lowest round is 61, which has been recorded by three golfers: Leona Maguire, Lee Jeong-eun and Kim Hyo-joo.

A perfect round is a round of eighteen holes where all holes were played on average at one under par (average of birdie on every hole) resulting in a score of 55 on a par 73 course, 54 on a par 72 course, 53 on a par 71 course, and 52 on a par 70 course.

There is a philosophy popularized by Pia Nilsson's Vision 54 that concentrates on achieving the perfect round, the basic ideology being that striving for perfection results in better scores even if the goal is not met.[97] Cecilia Ekelundh, who formerly played on the Ladies European Tour, did keep the perfect round on her mind by drawing a 54 on the ball she played in competition.[98]

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